Arch of Vokkaliga warriors replaced following backlash
The BJP said the duo killed Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan, and erected the arch ahead of Modi’s grand function in Mandya on Sunday. The party workers had put up buntings and BJP flags, painting the sugar town saffron
Amid backlash from the Congress and the JD(S) over an arch showcasing Vokkaliga warriors Uri Gowda and Dodda Nanjegowda at the entrance of Mandya, the Bhatariya Janata Party (BJP) workers on Sunday replaced it with that of Vokkaliga pontiff Sri Balagangadharanatha Swamiji ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.
The BJP said the duo killed Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan, and erected the arch ahead of Modi’s grand function in Mandya on Sunday. The party workers had put up buntings and BJP flags, painting the sugar town saffron. The four entrances to Mandya were named in a way to attract voters. The entrance at the IB circle was called Visvesvaraya, the one in Sanjay circle as Kempegowda Mahadwara, and the one in Mahavira circle as Sri Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar Mahadwara. Another entrance at the sugar factory circle was named Urigowda and Dodnanjegowda Mahadwara.
The naming of the Vokkaliga chieftains attracted criticism from Opposition Congress, JD(S) and locals on social media. Former chief minister Siddaramaiah, in a tweet, requested chief minister Basavaraj Bommai to remove the name of Uri Gowda and Dodda Nanjegowda and said it was desecrating the people of Mandya.
Siddaramaiah said Mandya contributed hundreds of freedom fighters to the nation, and by naming “fictitious persons”, the BJP was trying to create unrest.
But BJP national general secretary C T Ravi defended the naming of Uri Gowda and Dodda Nanje Gowda. In a tweet, he said that Congress was indulging in vote bank politics by opposing the entrance named after the Vokkaliga warriors.
Replying to Siddaramaiah, Ravi said that the congressmen do not tolerate warriors of the Vokkaliga community who killed the “fundamentalist cruel king, and mass murderer, Tipu Sultan.”
“Congress was indulging in vote bank politics by opposing the entrance named after the Vokkaliga warriors. Congressmen do not tolerate warriors of the Vokkaliga community who killed the “fundamentalist cruel king, and mass murderer, Tipu Sultan.”
Following the backlash, on Saturday night, the organisers removed the names of Uri Gowda and Dodda Nanje Gowda and named the entrance after Vokkaliga pontiff Sri Balagangadharanatha Swamiji.
“The names of Uri Gowda and Dodda Nanje Gowda were floated by BJP leaders in recent times just to woo Vokkaligas for votes. These two persons never existed,” Mandya district CPM general secretary M L Krishna Kumar said.
He said the two men were not mentioned anywhere in history, and the BJP is playing politics to portray Tipu Sultan as anti-Vokkaliga. “The BJP, which is using the photos of Urigowda and Dodda Nanjegowda on social media is the photos of the Maradu brothers from Tamil Nadu. Brothers Periya Maradu and Chinna Maradu waged a guerilla war against the British. The British arrested both the brothers and hanged them to death in 1801,” Kumar said.
“The Vokkaliga warrior Dodda Nanjegowda was a trusted man of erstwhile Mysuru Kingdom Rajamatha Lakshmi Ammanni, who was trying to get Mysuru kingdom from Tipu Sultan,’’ Mysuru Rangayana director Addanda Cariappa said.
Showing a photo of Dodda Nanjegowda, which is drawn by British historian Samuel William Ronalds, he said that the history was twisted by the erstwhile Congress government glorifying Tipu as a tiger.
“But the truth is different. I have written a play, Tipu Nija Kanasugalu (real dreams of Tipu), aimed to show the true history to the people. We have received an overwhelming response from the audience.
“I have written a play with references from books authored by historians, and Uri Gowda and Dodda Nanjegowda very much existed. But Congress is trying to twist it just for votes,” he added.