NEW DELHI – A tweet by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tipu Sultantriggered a war of words between senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah andBJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Sunday, with the former saying he was not theone to “eat biryani” with the premier of an enemy country.

Siddaramaiah’s comment came in the wake of Khan’s tweet on Tipu Sultan, the18th-century ruler of the erstwhile Mysore kingdom.

Paying tribute to Tipu Sultan, Khan tweeted on Saturday, saying he admiredhim because “he preferred freedom and died fighting for it rather than livea life of enslavement”.

Retweeting Khan’s message, BJP MP Chandrasekhar wrote, “Dear @siddaramaiahavare – time for u to hug Imranji n Bajwaji – like @sherryontopp ! Thtsquickest way to bcm @RahulGandhi n @priyankagandhi ‘s favourite !#JustDoIt.”

His jibe was aimed at Siddaramaiah’s reverence for Tipu Sultan. TheCongress leader had started the tradition of celebrating Tipu Jayanti asthen chief minister of Karnataka three years ago.

Slamming Chandrasekhar, Siddaramaiah tweeted, “Mr @rajeev_mp, Think beforeyou tweet. I am not like your Chor @narendramodi to eat biryani with the PMof our enemy country & also not like you to compromise on ethics to pleaseyour bosses.

“It is better to lead a life of Tipu Sultan than like a slave of yourbosses like you.” The Congress leader’s attack was in reference to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s surprise visit to Nawaz Sharif, the then primeminister of Pakistan, in Lahore in 2017.

Opposing Tipu Jayanti, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has held protests.

The saffron party has been accusing the Congress of ignoring the “genocide”carried out by the erstwhile ruler of Mysuru, including the killings ofKodavas in Kodagu district and Mandyam Iyengars of Melukote.