If Tipu Sultan is freedom fighter...: Himanta Sarma rakes triggers fresh row in Karnataka

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma once again raised the Tipu Sultan issue on Sunday and asked if the erstwhile ruler of Mysore was a freedom fighter, what about the 80,000 Kodavas who died for their homeland.

"If we were to even examine the argument that #TipuSultan is a freedom fighter solely because he fought against the British to defend his own kingdom, what about the 80,000 Kodavas who bravely sacrificed their lives for their homeland and to safeguard our culture and Dharma ? Enough of history written by the left. New India needs a history that recognises the sacrifices made by our heroes to protect their land and dharma," Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted.

The BJP has been accusing the Congress of promoting Tipu's ideology. During the reign of Siddaramaiah there were violent clashes in Kodagu district in which two persons lost their lives over the Tipu Sultan issue.

While many have described Tipu Sultan as a brave soldier who fought the Britishers, the Kodavas remember him as a back-stabbing tyrant.

In most parts of the state, he is known as a brutal tyrant whose atrocities against Hindus, Christians and Kodavas will never be forgotten. The BJP has been attacking the Congress on this issue ever since 2015, when the Congress government decided to celebrate Tipu Jayanti.

Sentiments against Tipu are high in Kodagu as they treat him as a religious bigot.