The BJP and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday stepped up their attack on Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy over his remarks on Lord Ram and Lord Shiva, accusing him of promoting north-south divisions and using religion for vote-bank politics.
Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao demanded an apology from the Chief Minister and called for protests across the state. His criticism came after Reddy, speaking at a media event in New Delhi on September 28, claimed that the Congress had found greater electoral success in southern states while struggling in the north because the BJP had “stolen Lord Ram” as a political symbol. Reddy also described Lord Shiva as the “God of the poor” and Lord Ram as the “God of the rich”, while calling the BJP a party of the rich.
BJP seeks apology
Rao described Reddy’s comments as “highly condemnable” and “objectionable”, arguing that such remarks were inappropriate for a person holding a constitutional office. He alleged that the Chief Minister was attempting to create divisions among Hindus by drawing distinctions between the worship of Ram and Shiva and between northern and southern India.
The BJP leader also referred to Reddy’s previous statements on religion and accused him of pursuing vote-bank politics. These were political allegations by Rao, and no evidence was cited to establish that the Chief Minister’s remarks were intended to influence any particular religious community.
Rao asked BJP workers to burn effigies of Reddy at the mandal level across Telangana on September 30. He also linked the Chief Minister’s remarks to the political contest surrounding the Khairatabad Assembly constituency, alleging that they were aimed at consolidating Muslim votes.
VHP joins criticism
VHP spokesperson Ravinuthala Shashidhar also demanded an apology from Reddy, accusing the Congress of seeking to divide Hindu society along regional and caste lines. He questioned the Chief Minister’s attempt to associate particular Hindu deities with different parts of the country.
Shashidhar pointed to the Lord Rama temple at Bhadrachalam in Telangana, popularly described as the “Ayodhya of the South”, to challenge the geographical distinction drawn by Reddy. He alleged that the Congress was extending what he described as its politics of division to religious identities.
Remarks trigger row
Reddy’s comments had triggered criticism from BJP leaders soon after they were made. The Chief Minister had said people in southern India were Dravidians and devotees of Shiva, while referring to people in the north as Aryans and associating them with the worship of Ram.
He also questioned why BJP leaders frequently raised the slogan “Jai Shri Ram” but, in his view, did not similarly invoke “Har Har Mahadev”. His remarks were made while responding to questions about the Congress’s political performance in northern and southern India.
The characterisation has been challenged by BJP leaders, who have pointed to major Shiva temples and traditions across northern India as well as prominent Ram temples in the south. The dispute has since developed into a broader political argument over the use of religious symbolism and regional identities.
Congress hits back
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka rejected the BJP’s demand for an apology and instead accused the party of practising divisive politics.
“Apology, what for? It is the BJP which is dividing people in this country. They are known for divisive politics,” Vikramarka told reporters in New Delhi.
The Congress has maintained that Reddy’s remarks were directed at what it describes as the BJP’s political use of Lord Ram rather than at Hindu religious beliefs. The BJP, however, has continued to demand that the Chief Minister withdraw his comments and apologise.