While reacting to Congress MLA Tanveer Sait’s proposal to install a 100-feet statue of Tipu Sultan at Srirangapatna in Karnataka’s Mandya district, JD(S) state president CM Ibrahim Sunday said there was no culture of setting up statues among Muslims. Speaking to reporters, Ibrahim asked whether there was any statue of a Muslim leader in India. “We can have his name, but not his statue,” he said. On Saturday, Sait triggered strong reactions from the ruling BJP over his proposal to install the statue. His statement came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a 108-feet statue of Kempegowda. Sait had said the statue of Tipu Sultan would symbolise the ‘true history’ of the region, adding that the BJP was distorting history associated with the ruler. The Congress legislator from Narasimharaja constituency in Mysuru had maintained that he would install the statue despite a prohibition on idols in Islam. Asked about the AIMIM’s claim of contesting 100 Assembly seats in the next elections, Ibrahim said the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party was free to do so. However, he alluded that the party had an ‘understanding’ with the BJP. “How did the BJP grant permission to the AIMIM to organise the Tipu Jayanti celebration in Hubballi?” he asked, referring to the event held at the ‘controversial’ Edgah Maidan in the city. The Muslim community was firmly behind the JD(S) and the AIMIM was contesting the election to divide minority votes, he contended.
