Himanta Sarma addressing a Karnataka poll campaign rally
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday once again targeted the Congress during campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka and dubbed the party's leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar as "family members" of Tipu Sultan.
"Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are family members of Tipu Sultan," Mr Sarma said while addressing an election rally in Karnataka's Virajpet assembly of Kodagu district.
"I came from Assam and in Assam 17 times Mughals attacked us but Mughals could not defeat us, we remain undefeated. Today I bow to this holy land because the Kodagu people also defeated Tipu Sultan many times," he added.
The BJP leader said that if Siddaramaiah intends to celebrate the Tipu Sultan jayanti, he should do so in Pakistan.
"80,000 people sacrificed their lives. And today Siddaramaiah is saying that they will celebrate Tipu Sultan Jayanti. If you want to celebrate Tipu Sultan Jayanti go and celebrate it in Pakistan and Bangladesh. But you don't have any right to do it in India", he added.
"If Congress will come then slowly Karnataka will also become PFI valley," he said.
Notably, Congress has in its manifesto promised to ban Bajrang Dal in Karnataka if the party comes to power, on the lines of the Popular Front of India, a move which has triggered massive political controversy.
The debate around Tipu Sultan, the erstwhile 18th-century-ruler of Mysore, has taken centre stage in the political corridors of Karnataka. The BJP has that upcoming elections will not be fought between BJP and Congress but between VD Savarkar and Tipu Sultan.
Karnataka will go to Assembly polls on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)