Bengaluru:

In Karnataka, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nalin Kumar Kateel is in discussion for his controversial statements.

Now he has made such a comment about Tipu Sultan, the 18th century ruler of Mysore, which may raise a controversy.

Kateel said in a meeting on Wednesday, 'All the ardent followers of Tipu Sultan should not be alive.'

He said that the descendants of Tipu Sultan should be chased away and sent to the forests.

Kateel said during a public meeting- 'We are devotees of Lord Rama and Hanuman.

We are not the descendants of Tipu Sultan.

We have sent back the descendants of Tipu.

So I ask the people of Yellaburga, will they worship Hanuman or sing the hymns of Tipu Sultan'?

Kateel said, 'The people of the state should think whether they want the devotees of Lord Rama and Hanuman or the descendants of Tipu.

I challenge from the land of Lord Hanuman that those who love Tipu should not live here.

Those who sing hymns of Lord Rama and are supporters of Lord Hanuman should stay here only.

Earlier this month, Kateel had courted controversy by claiming that the upcoming assembly elections in the state would be fought on "Tipu vs Savarkar".

He had said, "They (Congress) gave permission to celebrate Tipu Jayanti, which was not needed. At the same time, the party spoke derogatory things about Savarkar."

The issue of Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan has become a polarizing element in Karnataka politics.

The Tipu Sultan vs Hanuman debate was started by BJP's firebrand leader and UP CM Yogi Adityanath in the 2018 Karnataka elections.

Targeting the Congress at one of his election rally, Yogi Adityanath had said that Karnataka was the "land of Hanuman", which was ruled by the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire.

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