Tipu Sultan's portrait removed from Malegaon civic office after row

Mumbai: A portrait of Tipu Sultan has been removed from the Malegaon Municipal Corporation following a controversy after deputy mayor Shaan E-Hind Nihal Ahmed put it up in her chamber.

Ahmed's action, shortly after assuming office, sparked a political dispute with BJP and Shiv Sena opposing it. Ahmed belongs to Samajwadi Party, which won the Malegaon corporation election in alliance with Islam Party, the party of the current mayor. BJP and Shiv Sena alleged that it was against protocol. BJP's national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla called the act communal.

Ahmed defended the display of the portrait. "When I took over as the deputy mayor, our corporators came and gave me the photo and it was put up in my chamber. There is nothing untoward as Tipu Sultan was a freedom fighter... Even the British government had praised him," she said. On Saturday, after two days of controversy, the portrait was quietly removed after Shiv Sena and other outfits warned there would be protests inside the corporation until the photo was removed.