Tipu Sultan died 'heroic death fighting British': President Kovind

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 25 (ANI): President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday lauded erstwhile Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, saying he died a heroic death fighting the British.

The President's statement comes amid the controversy triggered few days back after the Karnataka Government planned to celebrate the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan on November 10.

"Tipu Sultan died a heroic death fighting the British. He was also a pioneer in use of Mysore rockets in warfare," Kovind said, while addressing the joint session of Karnataka Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council on the 60th anniversary of the Vidhan Soudha.

Several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders had rejected the invitation to the celebration and called it a 'shameful' event.

Union Minister of State for Skill Development Anant Kumar Hegde had conveyed to the Karnataka Government to not invite him to the "shameful" event of Tipu Sultan Jayanti.

"I have conveyed to the Karnataka Government not to invite me to the shameful event of glorifying a person known as a brutal killer, wretched fanatic and mass rapist," Hegde tweeted.

Meanwhile, in his speech, President Kovind also said, "Both houses of the legislature jointly and collectively represent the will and aspirations of the people of Karnataka. The houses also represent the ideals, optimism, energy and the dynamism of the Kannadiga people. The Vidhan Soudha building is a monument to the history of public service in Karnataka."

The President also stressed upon the importance of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council and said they both were sacred temples of democracy.

"The Legislature is a place to discuss, dissent and finally decide. It is an embodiment of the will, aspirations and hopes of people," he added.

The President further called for raising the level of political and policy discourse.

"We are aware of the three D's of legislature i.e. it is a place to debate, dissent and finally decide. If we add the fourth 'D' i.e. decency, only then the fifth 'D' namely democracy becomes a reality," he added. (ANI)