Tipu Sultan controversy: After Girish Karnad, BJP MP receives death threat

Benagluru: Playwright Girish Karnad has received death threat for his comments that Bengaluru International airport should have been named after 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan rather than the city founder Kempegowda.

The death threat was posted on social networking website Twitter by the user name Intolerant Chandra on Wednesday. The message was deleted after some time.

According to 'Times of India' the tweet read: "Girish Karnad will meet the same end like kalburgi if he enrages kannadigas by replacing in Kempe gouda (sic) with Tipu Sultan."

​Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Kodagu district in Mysore, Pratap Sinha filed a complaint today alleging that he has received a death threat for opposing the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan.

Sinha had said earlier that the state government was spreading hatred by celebrating Tipu's birth anniversary.

Kannada litterateur Girish Karnad on Wednesday apologised for his remarks on naming the Bengaluru international airport after city founder Kempe Gowda even as protests against him spread in Karnataka.

"I did not intend to hurt anyone. I apologise if I have hurt anyone's feelings, as I was only expressing my opinion about Tipu Sultan on his birth anniversary," Karnad told reporters here after protest demonstrations were held and rallies were taken out against him in many cities and towns across the state.

Besides the opposition BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, Bajarang Dal and other political, social and religious organisations criticised Karnad for saying on Tuesday at a function that the "airport should have been named after Tipu than Kemp Gowda, as the 18th century ruler was a apatriota and a freedom fighter".