The video clipping of Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan’s statement comparing Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah to Tipu Sultan and finish him off, went viral on social media, triggering controversy.
However, the Minister expressed regret in the Legislative Assembly over his remark on Thursday. The Minister has also clarified in his tweets that “the words used to compare Tipu Sultan and Siddaramaiah in Mandya are casual allusions and not malicious words. My words are being misconstrued. It wasn’t meant to hurt anyone”
Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Siddaramaiah has also criticised the Minister for instigating the public and has tweeted “Get the gun yourself”.
Minister Ashwath Narayan had participated in the BJP meeting on the premises of Kambada Narasimhaswamy temple, on the outskirts of Sathanuru, in Mandya taluk, on Tuesday evening.
Claiming that Siddaramaiah reacts whenever the topic of Tipu Sultan is raised, the Minister commented, that similar to Urigowda and Nanjegowda, the Vokkaliga chieftains, who finished off Tipu Sultan, he (Siddaramaiah) should also be finished off.
The video clip shows Ashwath Narayan comparing Siddaramaiah to Tipu Sultan, and asking the gathering, “What did Urigowda and Nanjegowda do to Tipu? To this, the party workers replied they finished off Tipu”. The Minister had said that Siddaramaiah should also be finished off in a similar manner.
He had also asked, “Do you want Tipu or Savarkar?”