Tipu Jayanti: Siddaramaiah rebukes Kumaraswamy for skipping event, says 'compromises needed for public good'

In a thinly jibe against Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, former chief minister Siddaramaiah said, “Sometimes compromises need to be made for the public good. Even I could have, but I do not compromise on the fundamental doctrine of secularism.”

ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಹಿತದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಿಂದ ಕೆಲವೊಮ್ಮೆ ರಾಜಿಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳ
ಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ, ನಾನೂ ಮಾಡಿರಬಹುದು. ಆದರೆ ಜಾತ್ಯತೀತತೆಯಂತಹ ಮೂಲಭೂತದ ಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತದ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ರಾಜಿಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾರೆ. ಅಧಿಕಾರ ಇರುತ್ತೆ, ಹೋಗುತ್ತೆ. I don't care.

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 11, 2018

His comments were in reference to the controversy surrounding  Saturday's Tipu Jayanti festivities  in the state, where both Kumaraswamy and his deputy G Parameshwara were not in attendance. Kumaraswamy cited health reasons to skip the festival. Reports said that Parameshwara was in fact in Singapore during the festival, and did not willingly skip it. Food and civil supplies minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, who attended the event in Parameshwara’s absence, said that Parameshwara was under the impression that the event was scheduled to be held at 6.30 pm and he had made arrangements to land in Bengaluru at around 3-4 pm. Meanwhile, the Karnataka government celebrated the birth anniversary of controversial Muslim ruler Tipu Sultan on Saturday, bringing the state under a thick security blanket amid threats of protest by the BJP, Sangh Parivar and Kodava organisations. Heavy security arrangement was seen across the state both near the venues celebrating Tipu Jayanti as well in sensitive areas such as Madikeri, which has seen Tipu Jayanti-related violence in the past. Several BJP workers were arrested in Madikeri, which serves as the headquarters of the Kodagu district in Karnataka, and has been at the centre of anti-Tipu protests since 2015 when the then Congress government led by Siddaramaiah announced its plans to celebrate Tipu Jayanti.