AH Vishwanath had said Tipu Sultan "does not belong to any party, caste or religion" (File)
Karnataka BJP has distanced itself from the newly nominated party MLC AH Vishwanath's comments, hailing the controversial 18th century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan, and said the remarks are personal and made in individual capacity.
The state BJP unit has also clarified that the party cannot and will not accept Tipu Sultan as a noble ruler.
"The remarks of AH Vishwanath, MLC, on Tipu Sultan are his personal (comments), made in his individual capacity. The BJP distances itself from these remarks," party spokesperson Ganesh Karnik said in a statement.
The BJP is of the unanimous and considered view that Tipu Sultan is a "fanatic bigot" and his rule was "tyrannical", he said.
History bears testimony that he killed thousands of Hindus in Kodagu district and Christians in Mangaluru in an attempt to establish Islamic rule, the BJP leader said.
"Tipu Sultan was zealous in converting people by the threat of sword. Tipu Sultan had made Persian the official language of his kingdom and, hence, he was against Kannada. BJP cannot and will not accept Tipu Sultan as a noble ruler," he added.
In a statement contrary to the party's stand, AH Vishwanath on Wednesday had hailed Tipu as a "son of this soil" who fought against the British for freedom.
When pointed out that his party BJP has a different view on the ruler, the MLC said it was a different matter.
"Tipu Sultan does not belong to any party or caste or religion. Tipu Sultan is the son of this soil. So he should not be belittled, by limiting him to any religion," the BJP MLC said.
On the controversy relating to plans to remove chapters on Tipu Sultan from school textbooks, he said, that was not the case, and that "we have to read about Tipu Sultan."
Soon after coming to power in Karnataka, the BJP government had scrapped the birth anniversary celebrations of Tipu Sultan, an annual government event the party had been opposing since 2015 when it was launched during the Congress-rule led by Siddaramaiah.
Some party legislators had demanded that chapters from school textbooks glorifying Tipu Sultan must be dropped.
The BJP and other organisations have strongly opposed the ruler, calling the erstwhile Mysuru king a "religious bigot".
AH Vishwanath, a former Congress minister, who had moved to the JD(S), defected to the BJP after rebelling against the then ruling coalition, along with several other legislators.
He had subsequently lost the December bypolls on a BJP ticket from the Hunsur assembly constituency, which had fallen vacant following his disqualification.
He was last month nominated as a member of the legislative council.