Congress MLA promises 100-ft statue of Tipu Sultan in Mysuru

Representative image. Pic/Istock

Karnataka Congress MLA Tanveer Sait on Thursday promised a 100 feet statue of Tipu Sultan in Srirangapatna of Karnataka's Mysuru.

Sait, who was elected MLA from Narasimharaja constituency, said the statue would stand as a symbol of the "true history" of Tipu Sultan for the coming generations. Claiming that the history around the warrior have been "distorted" by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

"A 100-feet-tall statue of Tipu Sultan will be erected in Mysuru or Srirangapatna which will stand as a symbol of the actual history around him. The BJP government has been distorting the history around Tipu Sultan and are bent on running his legacy down. Hence, there was an urgent need to build this statue," Sait said while taking part in the Tipu Kannada Rajyotsava in Mysuru on Thursday.

He said, "Despite the ban on erecting idols in Islam, I will still erect a statue of Tipu to tell the truth to the next generations."

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Former chief minister Siddaramaiah also reacted to the announcement, claiming that the BJP was busy distorting the history around the 18th century warrior.

"Why can't the statue of Tipu Sultan be built? Does he not deserve a statue? The BJP always distorts history. One should remember what they said about Narayan Guru, Ambedkar and others. They always twist and falsify facts," Siddaramaiah said.

Popularly known as the Tiger of Mysore, Tipu Sultan has been the subject of controversy in the state, especially since 2015 when the BJP and the Congress fought over the need to celebrate the 18th-century ruler's birthday.

During the Congress rule in 2017, former chief minister Siddaramaiah had announced the celebration of Tipu Jayanti on November 10.

However, in 2018, Uttara Kannada MP and then Union minister Ananthkumar Hegde condemned the state government's decision to celebrate Tipu Sultan's birth anniversary.

According to documented history, Tipu Sultan fought against the British and died in 1799 while defending his capital Srirangapatna (present-day Mandya).

The celebration of the 18th-century ruler's birth anniversary had pitted the BJP against the Congress, with several party leaders condemning the grand old party.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday unveiled the 'Statue of Prosperity', the 108-feet bronze statue of Bengaluru founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda.

The statue has been built to commemorate the contribution of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, the founder of the city, towards the growth of Bengaluru.

"Conceptualized and sculpted by Ram V Sutar of Statue of Unity fame, 98 tonnes of bronze and 120 tonnes of steel have gone into the making of this statue," the PMO said. (ANI)