Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy triggered a political controversy with his remarks that “Shiva is the God of the poor, while Ram is the God of the rich”, in an apparent dig at the BJP. Reddy attributed the BJP’s electoral success in parts of North India to what he described as the party having ‘stolen Lord Ram’, saying the deity is revered in the north while Lord Shiva is worshipped in the south.
The BJP strongly condemned the remarks, accusing Reddy of attempting to divide communities for political gains.
BJP ‘stole’ Lord Ram in north: Revanth Reddy
Addressing a conclave organised by a media organisation in Delhi on Monday, “We are Dravidians. People here (north) are Aryans. We are devotees of Shiva. These are devotees of Lord Ram. BJP stole Ram. It’s an emotion. It’s a sentiment. Why Modi ji does not say Har Har Mahadev. Have BJP people ever said Har Har Mahadev on a stage. They say only Jai Sri Ram. When we say Har Har Mahadev, they don’t like it.”
“Shiva is the God of the poor, Ram is the God of the rich and the BJP is a party of the rich,” Reddy further claimed.
The Chief Minister remarked when asked why Congress is popular in the south but not in the north, east and western parts of the country.
Reddy also said that the country could witness an agitation against the (SIR) similar to the ‘Simon, go back’ movement during the freedom struggle. He said leaders of opposition parties, including Mamata Banerjee, Uddhav Thackeray and MK Stalin, will have to unite to carry out a ‘SIR, go back’ struggle.
The SIR is aimed at “deleting votes and to benefit the BJP,” he alleged and lashed out at BJP, saying key portfolios at the Centre, including Defence, Home and Commerce, are held by “leaders from the north.”
BJP hits back
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State Bandi Sanjay Kumar slammed Reddy for his remarks.
In a post on X, the BJP leader said Revanth Reddy, who earlier said ‘Muslim is Congress, Congress is Muslim’, is now drawing political boundaries between Lord Ram and Lord Shiva. “Being the CM of Telangana that has Dakshina Kashi at Vemulawada and Dakshina Ayodhya at Bhadrachalam, Revanth Reddy should know better than to divide Lord Rama and Lord Shiva into North and South,” he said.
“Lord Shiva drank Halahala and became Neelakanth. Today, Congress is brewing its own Halahala: caste against caste, North against South, and now Shiva against Rama,” he added.
The Union Minister further said that PM Narendra Modi represents Varanasi in Lok Sabha and Kashi Vishwanath is at the spiritual heart of Varanasi. “Modi ji is first PM since independence to visit Vemulawada Shri Rajarajeshwara Swamy, Lord Shiva,” he said.
“Vishnu is in the heart of Shiva, and Shiva is in the heart of Vishnu. That is Sanatana Dharma. And when you ask whether BJP leaders ever say “Har Har Mahadev”, here is Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji himself saying it. And that is precisely why Hindus must recognise the politics of division of Congress. Har Har Mahadev. Jai Shri Ram,” he added.