The installation of Tipu Sultan’s image in Malegaon’s Deputy Mayor office has ignited a political storm, prompting Shiv Sena’s Krishna Hegde to label the move as a novice’s blunder rooted in historical ignorance. In an IANS interview, Hegde stressed Maharashtra’s deep-rooted veneration for Chhatrapati Shivaji and Sambhaji Maharaj, who embodied the fight for Hindu swarajya against tyranny.
Hegde laid bare Tipu’s legacy of violence against Hindus, including rampant temple vandalism, making the portrait’s presence in government space unacceptable. He slammed the reversal of its administrative removal as an escalatory error. ‘You can’t equate Tipu’s land-grab wars with the Marathas’ righteous battles,’ he clarified.
Addressing Mani Shankar Aiyar’s latest Congress infighting—targeting Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor, and KC Venugopal—Hegde called it an internal rift unworthy of Shiv Sena or BJP intervention. ‘Congress must clean its own house and decide Aiyar’s fate,’ he remarked.
Optimism prevails elsewhere, with PM Narendra Modi hosting French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai for the Indo-France Summit launch. Corporate honchos are hashing out AI advancements, data synergies, and tech alliances, culminating in a fresh agreement to amplify India-France trade and investment horizons.