New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor sparked a row after he showered praises on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for his ‘genuine and far reaching’ interest in history.

The Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan, had said, “Today 4th May is the death anniversary of Tipu Sultan – a man I admire because he preferred freedom and died fighting for it rather than live a life of enslavement.” Tharoor lauded Khan for remembering Tipu Sultan but expressed disappointment that “it took a Pakistani leader to remember a great Indian hero” on his death anniversary.

“He read; he cares. It is disappointing, though, that it took a Pakistani leader to remember a great Indian hero on his punyathithi,” Tharoor said, responding to Khan’s tweet. This is not the first time Imran Khan has praised the ruler of the erstwhile Mysore kingdom. In February, the Pakistan prime minister lauded Sultan’s gallantry at a joint sitting of parliament convened in the wake of increased Indo-Pak tension after the Pulwama attack.

Tipu Sultan, also known as Tipu Sahab or Tiger of Mysore was famous in history for introducing administrative innovations during his rule, including his coinage and a new land revenue system which initiated the growth of the Mysore silk industry. He was considered a pioneer in the use of rocket artillery and had deployed the Mysorean rockets against Britishers during the Anglo-Mysore Wars.

Tharoor’s latest tweet is likely to bring the debate on Tipu Sultan back into political discourse. In May last year, BJP had crossed swords over the Karnataka government’s decision to celebrate the birth anniversary of Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan on November 10 every year.

BJP had termed the Congress government’s move of observing Tipu Sultan Jayanti as an act of Muslim appeasement.

It had even asked its leaders not to celebrate or attend Tipu Sultan birth anniversary celebrations. The BJP claims that Tipu was a ‘terrorist’ who persecuted the Kodavas and Catholics in Mangaluru.