Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s remarks about 3 crore Hindu deities, a God for every occasion, have sparked a political row.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday delivered an address at the state Congress executive meeting, underscoring the party’s ideological diversity and likening its internal plurality to the vast nature of Hindu worship traditions.
“The Congress takes along all types of individuals. One says he will worship Lord Venkateswara, another says he will worship Hanuman. When we could not bring consensus on gods, I don’t think we can have consensus on political leaders and DCC presidents,” he said, according to news agency PTI.
While addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Reddy introduced a seemingly conversational point about the nature of Hindu worship, which he framed as an observation delivered “in a lighter vein”.
The Chief Minister’s quote, which quickly went viral was, “How many deities are there in Hinduism? How many deities? Three crores? Why? For those who are unmarried, there is god hanuman. For those who are married twice, there is another god. For those who drink, there is another god. Yellamma, Pochamma, Maisamma. For those who demand chicken, there is a god. And for those who eat dal-rice, there is another god, right? There are all kinds of deities.”
His comments surfaced at a time when the Congress is reportedly grappling with internal discontent over the appointment of new District Congress Committee (DCC) chiefs.
BJP Hits Back
Reddy’s remarks quickly snowballed into a political storm, drawing sharp criticism from BJP leaders in Telangana, including Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar.
Kishan Reddy recalled the chief minister’s earlier comment during the Jubilee Hills bypoll, stating that “Congress means Muslims and Muslims mean Congress”. He alleged that the CM was making disparaging remarks about Hindu traditions “because of his friendship with the AIMIM.”
“The time has come for Hindus to unite in Telangana also. The time has come to show the power of Hindus to Revanth Reddy and Congress party,” he said.
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Sanjay Kumar asserted, “Hindu society should think now whether they want to face insults by remaining divided or show their power by ensuring unity. BJP never insults other religions. BJP respects all religions.”
State BJP president N Ramchander Rao announced a statewide protest on December 3, including the burning of effigies, to condemn Revanth Reddy’s remarks.