Mysuru, Karnataka (The Hawk): Tanveer Sait, a former minister and Congress lawmaker, reported receiving a threat to his life after announcing the installation of the tallest statue of Tipu Sultan in this location, according to the police on Friday.
Raghu, a Hindu activist from Sakleshpur in the Hassan district, has been the target of a complaint made to the Udayagiri police.
Sait has declared that he will install the 108-foot-tallest statue of Tipu Sultan in either the historic city of Mysuru or the city of Srirangapatna.
In response, Raghu urged him to apologise for making the statement regarding the statue's installation in a video. He said in Kannada, "If the statement is not withdrawn, the place is ready for your burial."
On social media, the video had become very popular. K.C. Shaukat Pasha, Secretary of the Bidi Mazdoor Association, and MLA Tanveer Sait had both reported the threat to the police.
Sait, a well-known minority leader from south Karnataka, represents the Narasimharaja Assembly constituency in Mysuru city and carries on his father Azeez Sait's political legacy. He allegedly suffered a stabbing from an SDPI employee in 2019.
Tanveer Sait announced the construction of a statue of Tipu Sultan and criticised the ruling BJP and Hindu organisations for attempting to defame and misrepresent the 18th-century tyrant Tipu Sultan for political purposes.
Tanveer Sait said, "Though building statues is prohibited by Islam, the need for such a symbol is required in the current situation where BJP and Sangh Parivar are carrying out constant propaganda to defame the ruler who fought the British and sacrificed their lives for the country.
Tanveer Sait responded that he believed in the Indian constitution and has the same rights as everyone else when Hindu organisations directly threatened to demolish the Tipu Sultan statue.
Tipu Sultan was a religious fanatic who engaged in the mass conversion of Hindus using cruel methods, according to the ruling BJP and Hindu organisations. Tipu Jayanthi was started by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government but was halted and outlawed by the BJP in power.
(Inputs from Agencies)