KOPPAL: Karnataka BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel has set off a fresh row in the poll-bound state, saying the polls will be between the descendants of 18th-century ruler Tipu Sultan and devotees of gods Ram and Hanuman.
“People who love Tipu Sultan shouldn’t live in the state of Ram and Hanuman,” he said here on Tuesday. Assembly elections are due this summer in the state.
Kateel is known to make comments that are seen as highly polarising. In January, the state BJP chief faced flak from the opposition for asking party workers to prioritise the issue of ‘love-jihad’ over issues pertaining to roads and sewer. Last week, he said the assembly polls will be between Tipu and Savarkar.
Kateel asked whether people of the district are devotees of Ram and Hanuman or Tipu. “We are devotees of Ram and Hanuman, and not descendants of Tipu. We sent back the Mysuru ruler’s descendants. So I ask the people of Yelaburga, do you worship Hanuman or sing Tipu’s bhajans?” Kateel said.
The state BJP president further said: “I challenge people in the land of Hanuman. People who love Tipu should not stay here. People who chant Lord Ram’s bhajans and celebrate Lord Hanuman should stay here.”