Maharashtra Congress chief draws flak over remarks on Tipu Sultan, Chhatrapati Shivaji

Courting controversy by comparing Tipu Sultan with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Maharashtra Congress chief Harshawardhan Sapkal on Saturday (February 14, 2026) said both historic figures should be seen in the same league.

Mr. Sapkal’s remarks drew sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Slamming Mr. Sapkal, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said his remarks were deplorable.

The controversy erupted over an image of Tipu Sultan in the chamber of the Deputy Mayor of Malegaon, Shan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed. It had been gifted to her by the corporators, Ms. Ahmed said. The Shiv Sena protested against the presence of the portrait in the Deputy Mayor’s chamber.

“We condemn this statement. He [Mr. Sapkal] should be ashamed of comparing Tipu Sultan with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He should apologise. We will not tolerate it. Congress should take cognisance of it, if it has even an ounce of morality left in it. The Congress’s allies should take note of it, too,” Mr. Fadnavis said in Nagpur on Saturday (February 14), terming the remarks “appeasement of the worst kind”.

In response, Mr. Sapkal posted images of Tipu Sultan and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in a post on social media platform X. “These are portraits of both Shivaji Maharaj and Tipu Sultan of the original copy of the Constitution,” he said.

Mr. Sapkal also criticised the BJP and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s valour is unparalleled. Shivray is our pride, and Tipu Sultan was valiant and a lover of self-rule. It was by taking Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as his ideal that he fought against the British. At the time when Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Tipu Sultan were fighting against foreigners, the people who came from the ideology of the Sangh, BJP, like Devendra Fadnavis, were engaging in servitude and espionage for the British. Therefore, Devendra Fadnavis should not get involved in the pretence of teaching us history. The people of Maharashtra have not forgotten what all [former Governor of Maharashtra] Bhagat Singh Koshyari, along with the BJP and RSS have spewed in their loose talk and the insults they have hurled regarding Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” Mr. Sapkal said on X.

Tipu Sultan was the 18th century ruler of Mysore, praised for his fight against the British, but also criticised for bigotry and atrocities against Hindus.