A group of miscreants pulled down cutout of Tipu Sultan put up by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) as part of a series of cutouts of several freedom fighters across the city to mark the party’s padayatra to mark the 75th Independence Day on Monday.
Self-styled Hindutva activist Puneeth Kerehalli, who has floated an outfit called Rashtra Rakshana Pade, turned up with a band of his followers at K. R. Circle and Hudson Circle on Saturday late night and pulled down the cutout of Tipu Sultan. He also broadcast it live on social media platforms, where he expressed outrage over considering Tipu Sultan as a freedom fighter. However, he said they should instead put up cutouts of Kittur Rani Chennamma and Sangolli Rayanna, which were also among the series of cutouts adorning the street sides.
KPCC president D. K. Shivakumar and Bengaluru Rural MP D. K. Suresh condemned the incident and demanded legal action against the miscreants. “Tipu Summer Palace in the city, which is maintained by the Archaeology Department of the Union Government, has been decorated and honoured Tipu Sultan’s contribution to the freedom struggle. Despite that, such instances are allowed to happen in the presence of police officials,” Mr. Shivakumar lamented.
The Halasuru Gate police have registered a case and arrested four persons, including Puneeth Kerehalli. However, before his arrest, a defiant Kerehalli defended his action and said that Tipu Sultan was not a freedom fighter, and his act was to avenge objections raised to the photograph of V. D. Savarkar at a mall in Shivamogga on Saturday.
