Karnataka Cabinet Minister HC Mahadevappa on Monday extended his support to the proposal by Congress MLA Prasad Abbayya to rename the Mysuru airport after Tipu Sultan. Reacting to the criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party on the proposal, Mahadevappa asked, "Why is Tippu Sultan vilified and seen as an anti-national?"
Abbayya's proposal which he put forward in the Karnataka Assembly was met with sharp criticism from the BJP MLAs.
Praising the 18th century ruler of Mysore, Mahadevappa said, "Isn't Tipu one of us? He is from Mysuru and not from any foreign land, right? Isn't he the one who stopped the Devadasi system, isn't he the very person who bought land reforms into place that ensured the land to the tiller? Isn't he the one who brought sericulture to the whole of India? Isn't he the one who brought back the stolen khalasha (spire) from the Peshawas and brought it back to Sringeri Sharada Peetham?"
The minister said during Tipu Sultan's rule, temples and mosques existed next to each other and communal harmony prevailed. Mahadevappa also added that Tipu Sultan fought against the British and asked why the ruler was being seen as "anti-national".
The minister said the matter of renaming the airport after Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wadiyar, the 20th-century king of Mysore, was a different matter and only questioned why Tipu Sultan "is being vilified".
BJP MP from Mysore-Kodagu Pratap Simha had opposed the proposal to rename the Mysuru airport after Tipu Sultan, arguing that the process to rename it after Krishnaraja Wadiyar was already in its final stages.
Published By:
chingkheinganbi mayengbam
Published On:
Dec 19, 2023
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