Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday said the controversy surrounding Tipu Sultan in Maharashtra has been unnecessarily prolonged, noting that the portrait displayed in the Malegaon Deputy Mayor’s office has already been removed.
Addressing the issue, Raut maintained that the matter should now be considered closed. He criticised the BJP for continuing to press the debate and argued that attention should instead shift to what he called “real issues” affecting citizens, including farmers’ suicides, unemployment, labour hardship and women’s safety.
Raut alleged that symbolic disputes are often amplified when there is a lack of substantive topics of governance or national interest. He claimed that such controversies risk fuelling communal tensions rather than contributing to public discourse.
While speaking to IANS, Raut added, “If the truth about Tipu Sultan is to be known, listen to the speech given by President Ram Nath Kovind in the Karnataka Assembly, whom you yourselves appointed. BJP corporators in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation had also proposed naming a road after Tipu Sultan.”
Reacting to Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal’s comparison between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Tipu Sultan, Raut emphasised that Shivaji Maharaj’s legacy is beyond comparison. “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj cannot be compared to anyone. But isn’t there any other issue in the country and in Maharashtra? Farmers are committing suicide. Poor labourers, unemployed youth, and women’s security are all issues. But no one will talk about it,” Raut said while speaking to ANI.
The row originated after a portrait of Tipu Sultan, the 18th-century Mysuru ruler, was displayed in the office of Malegaon Municipal Corporation Deputy Mayor Shan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed.
