A descendant of Tipu Sultan on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and other allied outfits of playing “dirty politics” over the former Mysore ruler's birth anniversary celebrations. Shahzada Anwar Ali Shah said he would seek Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in the matter. He also flayed the ruling government and it's ideological ally, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, for “maligning the country’s image internationally by portraying the monarch as a tyrant”, reported the Indo-Asian News Service.

The Karnataka government had decided to celebrate Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary on November 10, but a huge controversy erupted with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP and the VHP opposing the move. A VHP worker also died during the staged protests on Tuesday. Eminent playwright Girish Karnad received a death threat and had to apologise after he endorsed renaming of the Bengaluru international airport after Tipu Sultan.

The former ruler of Mysore is seen by some as a tyrant who destroyed villages and temples, and converted thousands of people to Islam.