'Tipu Jayanti' celebrations: BJP stages protests; CM, DyCM skip event
Bengaluru, Nov 10: Protests by BJP and right-wing outfits broke out in several parts of Karnataka on Saturday against 'Tipu Jayanthi' celebrations, which were held amid tight security, while Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his deputy skipped the main event here, drawing disapproval from ruling Congress lawmakers.
The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah began celebrating the birth anniversary of controversial 18th century Mysore kingdom ruler Tipu Sultan on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition from the BJP and several Hindu organisations and groups.
When in the opposition, Kumaraswamy had questioned the need for such celebrations.
The main event at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat here, turned out to be lacklustre on Saturday, as Kumaraswamy, who is of JD(S), skipped it citing advice by doctors to take rest for three days till November 11.
Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, who is of Congress, was also not present as he was reportedly in Singapore to visit an ailing senior politician from Karnataka.
As BJP and other right-wing outfits protested against the Jayanthi, Vidhana Soudha turned into a fortress with multi-layer security. Police ensured nobody could carry medicines, perfumes or even water bottles inside the venue.
Irrigation minister D K Shivakumar, minister for minority affairs B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and MLAs Roshan Baig and N A Harris attended the main programme, where the BJP was accused of communalising the occasion.
Voices of disapproval started emerging from within the ruling coalition over the chief minister and deputy chief minister's absence, with a Congress MLA terming it as an "insult" to the Muslim community.
MLA and former minister Tanveer Sait requested the chief minister to at least attend a Tipu Jayanthi event at near to where he was taking rest.
According to party sources, many Congress leaders, especially those from the Muslim community, were miffed with the CM and deputy chief minister for skipping the event.
Kumaraswamy reportedly chose to skip the event so as not to antagonise voters in his party's bastion of old Mysuru region, as Tipu Sultan had seized power from Maharajas of Mysuru, who are virtually revered there.
The Chief Minister's Office (CMO), however, issued a statement on Kumaraswamy's absence at the event. Wishing success for Tipu Jayanthi celebrations, the JD(S) leader said Tipu's progressive measures in administration and his quest for innovation were "commendable".
He said as he was taking rest on doctor's advice.
"It is far from the truth that the CM is not taking part due to fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs," the CMO statement said.
This was the first Tipu Jayanthi celebration after the Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power in the state.
Meanwhile, a group of Muslim leaders along with state minister Zameer Ahmed Khan Saturday met senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah and honoured him on the occasion of Tipu Jayanthi.
Calling Tipu a "good administrator," Siddaramaiah hit out at the BJP for opposing Tipu Jayanthi celebrations, and said the saffron party leaders had attended similar events while in power.
BJP and several right-wing outfits held protests in different parts of the state opposing the celebrations.
Calling Tipu a "religious bigot", the state BJP unit had urged the state government to drop its decision to celebrate the Jayanthi.
In Kodagu district, where celebrations in 2015 were marred by widespread protests and violence, 'Tipu Jayanti Virodhi Horata Samithi' called for a bandh. VHP worker Kuttappa had died in Kodagu district during a clash that erupted during the Tipu Jayanthi that year.
BJP workers along with MLA M P Appachu Ranjan were detained at Madikeri in Kodagu district for protesting the event.
Another BJP MLA and former assembly speaker K G Bopaiah was detained in Virajpet during the protest.
In Mangaluru, some protesters tried to barge into the zilla panchayat office with black flags where the event was being organised. Police later detained the protesters.
Similar protests were reported from Chikmagalur, Ballari, Karwar and various parts of the state.
Prohibitory orders have been clamped in most of the districts as a precautionary measure, police said.
Extra security arrangements were made in districts of Kodagu, Chitradurga, and coastal regions among others where local communities are opposed to the celebrations.
Tipu was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces.
The ruler, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam.
He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melukote in Mandya district on the day of Diwali, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru.
However, the claims are disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and progressive ruler.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
