Former Karnataka chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he is ‘not surprised’ by state education minister C N Ashwathnarayan’s ‘appeal to kill’ him at a public gathering in the state’s Mandya district. The Congress leader was referring to Ashwathnarayan’s public address at a rally where he allegedly made a comparison between Siddaramaiah and 17th-century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan.
“Higher Education Minister @drashwathcn has appealed people to kill me like how Tipu was killed. Aswath Narayan, Why are you trying to instigate people? Get the gun yourself,” the Congress leader tweeted.
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He further attacked chief minister B S Bommai and his government over inaction and alleged that the CM’s ‘incompetent cabinet is sleeping and is in agreement with Ashwath Narayan’.
“Has Gujarat BJP culture crept into Karnataka BJP as well? Will @narendramodi be silent even now just like he how he was silent in 2002? Kannadigas will never let Karnataka to become like Gujarat,” Siddaramaiah said.
On Wednesday, Ashwathnarayan urged people to ‘fiinish off’ Siddaramaiah in the same way two Vokkalinga chieftains Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda killed Tipu Sultan, according to The Indian Express. “Do you want Tipu or Savarkar? Where should we send this Tipu Sultan? What did Uri Gowda Nanje Gowda do? You should finish him off the same way?” he said at the rally.
Controversy around Tipu Sultan stirred again ahead of the Karnataka assembly election after the state BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel asked people to ‘chase away’ the fervent supporters of the ruler ‘to the forest’.
“I want to ask the people of Yalaburga – whether you worship Anjaneya or sing praises of Tipu Sultan. Won’t you drive away those singing praises of Tipu to the forest?” Kateel said earlier at a public gathering in the state’s Koppal district.
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However, Ashwathnarayan said the comparisons made between Tipu and Siddaramaiah were ‘casual allusions’ and added that his words should not be seen in a way other than a ‘debate’.
“The words used to compare Tipu-Siddaramaiah in Mandya are casual allusions and not malicious words. Debate is an integral part of politics. The words I have spoken should be seen in that frame. This is essential for a healthy democracy,” he said in Kannada in a tweet.
In a series of tweets, Siddaramaiah demanded CM Bommai to dismiss the education minister from his cabinet.
