Karnataka Congress MLA Tanveer Sait Lodges Complaint Alleging Life Threat Over Tipu Statue

After having courted controversy saying he would build a 108 ft statue of Tipu Sultan, Congress MLA Tanveer Sait has now complained that he has a life threat over the same.

The complaint has been filed against the public comment made by Bajrang Dal leader Raghu Sakleshpura. In a video, he was seen ’warning Tanveer Sait’ that ‘even if he makes a statue of not 108 but even 1 feet tall it would be his final journey’.

‘We will oppose any one who makes a statue of Tipu who was anti-national and a threat to society. We will give a befitting response to those who thinking of making one too’, Raghu is seen saying.

Sait, as reported, has lodged a complaint with Udayagiri police against the same.

Even amidst calls of any such statue being un-Islamic, Sait had said the statue was needed to counter the ongoing efforts by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to “malign and distort’’ the history of the eighteenth century ruler for “political purposes’’, as quoted.

While Congress leader and chief minister aspirant Siddharamaiah had backed the fellow party leader’s wish to erect the erstwhile ruler’s statue, Janata Dal (Secular) Karnataka president CM Ibrahim had called it non-Islamic and also alleged that Tipu Jayanti was also celebrated with the sole intention of "vote bank appeasement".

Sait had made this announcement at a function which also had Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) leader of Mysuru Abdul Majeed, who contested against Sait in the last two elections from Narasimharaja constituency.

The constituency has been a Congres bastion for over four decades, inherited by Sait from his father Azeez Sait.

In 2013, debutant Abdul Majeed lost to Sait with a margin of 8,370 votes, while in 2018 Sait won with a margin of over 17,000 votes with BJP candidate coming second. Majeed had in 2018 been hopeful of an anti-incumbency against Sait in the father-son fortress.

Sait, also survived an attack by a knife-weilding man in 2019, who was said to have links with the SDPI although the party denied any such.

Also read: Karnataka: Congress Tries To Reclaim ‘The Tipu Sultan Card’ Before AIMIM Can Make It Its Own