RSS opposed the celebration of 'Tipu Jayanti' in Karnataka on Friday, saying they would stage protests against it as the ruler of the erstwhile Mysore kingdom was a "religious bigot and a violent sultan". "Our outfits will be out on the streets to stage protests against Tipu Jayanti as the then Mysuru ruler was a tyrant, a religious bigot and a violent sultan," RSS kshetriya sarsanghchalak of Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, V Nagaraj told reporters here.

Tipu Jayanti, slated to be celebrated across the state on November 10, is being observed since last year following a Congress government decision which had triggered a major row and caused violence in Kodagu district in November last. Nagaraj said celebrating Tipu Jayanti will amount to "rubbing salt into the wounds" of Christians and many other communities who were persecuted by the then Mysuru ruler.

Even well-known Left historian KM Pannikar had translated the records of religious persecutions of Tipu, written in Arabic and Persian languages into Malayalam and English, he said.

Replying to a query, the RSS leader asked the government to pursue the Rudresh murder case so that the killers get capital punishment. RSS worker Rudresh was hacked to death by two motorcycle-borne men on Kamaraja Road on October 16 when he was with his friends, after attending a Sangh event. Four persons were arrested on Friday in connection with the murder.

Nagaraj expressed satisfaction over the arrest of Rudresh's killers. "We are happy that the culprits have been arrested and we congratulate the Bengaluru police for it," he said. "However, our demand before the government is that the case will have to be properly filed and pursued so that the culprits get capital punishment," he added.

The RSS leader refuted reports that Rudresh was murdered due to personal rivalry and said there was no complaint regarding his conduct and he had a great ability to build the Sangh and the BJP in the state.