BJP workers confronted Congress activists in Pune as they protested against Congress leader Harshwardhan Sapkal’s remarks “equating” Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with Tipu Sultan, with the opposition party claiming they threw stones during Sunday’s agitation.
Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma told reporters that three Congress workers, two BJP workers, two police personnel and two journalists sustained minor injuries in the battle, adding that the process of registering cases against both parties was underway.
“A protest was held near Congress Bhavan which saw sloganeering by BJP and Congress workers. Workers of both parties climbed the wall and there was stone pelting from both sides. Cases are being registered against workers of both parties,” informed Sharma.
Pune City Congress chief Arvind Shinde said the party has lodged a written complaint with the police against the BJP functionaries. A case should be filed against Mayor Manjusha Nagpur, BJP city president Dheeraj Ghate, Dushyant Mohol and other workers, Shinde added.
There was heavy police deployment in the area as BJP workers protested outside the Congress Bhavan, condemning Sapkal’s comments that sparked a row in the state.
Controversy erupted on Saturday over the portrait of Tipu Sultan in the office of Malegaon Municipal Corporation Shan-e-Hind Deputy Mayor Nihal Ahmed, which was opposed by Shiv Sena corporators and Hindu organisations.
While pointing out the prowess of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the way he presented the idea of ’Swarajya’, Sapkal cited the example of Tipu Sultan’s call for battle against the British and argued that it was an ideal expressed on the same lines.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Congress leader Sachin Sawant accused the BJP of “double standards” and pursuing a polarizing agenda after Sapkal faced criticism for the remark.
In his statement, the Congress spokesperson cited several instances where he alleged that BJP leaders had earlier endorsed or approved references to the 18th-century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan in public spaces and official forums.
He referred to resolutions in civic bodies in Akola and Mumbai as well as past instances of BJP leaders allegedly praising or associating a historical figure to argue that the party’s current opposition was politically motivated.
BJP workers staged a protest in Pune condemning Sapkal’s remarks.
The Congress claimed that two of its workers were injured when saffron party activists indulged in stone pelting outside the Congress Bhavan.
Tipu Sultan remains a polarizing figure in history, with some citing his bravery in battles against the British, while others point to his religious bigotry and mistreatment of non-Muslims.
In his statement, Sawant claimed that the BJP used to admire Tipu Sultan but now calls him bad for its polarizing agenda.
Sawant further accused the BJP of a “double standard”, saying that in 2012, the saffron party moved a resolution in the Akola Municipal Corporation to name the standing committee hall “Shaheed-e-Watan Sher-e-Mysore Tipu Sultan”, proposed by former Akola mayor and current BJP election chief Vijay Agrawal.
In 2013, BJP corporators supported a proposal to name a road in Mumbai’s M-East district as ‘Shaheed Tipu Sultan Marg’ and even the name of the city’s current mayor Ritu Tawde is among those present, he said.
In 2001, a road in Andheri (West) was named “Sher-e-Mysore Tipu Sultan Marg” in the presence of former BJP MP Gopal Shetty and party corporators, the resolution being unanimously approved, Sawant said.
BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa visited Sultan Tipu’s tomb and wrote words of praise in the guest book, he claimed.
In 2017, the then President Ram Nath Kovind praised Tipu Sultan at a rally in Karnataka, the Congress leader added.