Congress Lawmaker’s Defense of Tipu Sultan Sparks BJP‑Shiv Sena Counter

In a heated exchange that lit up Maharashtra’s political headlines, Congress representative Vijay Vadhteewar defended the 18th‑century ruler Tipu Sultan, calling him a misunderstood freedom fighter. The claim prompted sharp rebuttals from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena (Shinde group), who described the leader as a “villain who ruined India.”

The incident unfolded in Malegaon, a town where activists raised chants like “We need freedom, Tipu’s freedom” during a protest against the exclusion of Muslim Rohingya voters from the voter list. Vadhteewar asserted that historical accounts had unfairly painted Tipu Sultan as a traitor, noting that contemporaneous monarchs such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj were also labeled traitors by colonial narratives.

Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC told the press that Tipu Sultan’s rule was marked by the massacre of Hindus and sexual violence against women, contending that the Congress Party was attempting to white‑wash his legacy. BJP’s Parinay Phuke added that the protest was a “calculated effort to spread anarchy and tarnish the nation’s image,” likening Vadhteewar’s stance to Rahul Gandhi’s alleged agenda of “regime change.”

Both opposition parties urged Vadhteewar to revisit historical texts, emphasizing that the documented killings and forced conversions under Tipu’s regime are part of the public record. The controversy arrives at a sensitive time, with elections looming and parties scrambling to capture the moral high ground on issues of heritage and national identity.