Telangana BJP launched a scathing attack against chief minister Revanth Reddy on Tuesday, a day after his remarks on Hindu gods Ram and Shiva sparked outrage. BJP chief N Ramchander Rao hit out at Reddy for allegedly trying to create a divide among Hindus and between the north and the south.
Speaking at a media event in Delhi, Reddy went on to claim that Ram was the God of the rich and Shiva was the God of the poor. He further alleged that BJP was a party of the rich. “It is objectionable. It is an absurd statement by a person holding a Constitutional post,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying. Rao called upon the BJP workers to burn Reddy’s effigies at mandal level across the state. BJP spokesperson Prakash Reddy also hit out at the Congress leader, saying, “I think he has no basic knowledge about this country, basic geography of this country. But he doesn’t know where Mount Kailash is, or where Kedarnath is, or where Badrinath is. He should not use such language… This will cost Congress dearly.”
Reddy on Monday claimed that Congress struggled to win in the northern states because BJP “stole Lord Ram”, who is worshipped by larger number of devotees in the north, while the party managed to win in the south, where Lord Shiva is worshipped. Angered by the Telangana CM’s remarks, Rao termed it “highly condemnable” as he called for protests. Slamming Revanth Reddy for his remarks, BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said, “The way Revanth Reddy has spoken about Lord Ram and Shiv.
Ram is a North Indian God and Shiv is a Dravidian God is what he said yesterday.
Congress defends Revanth Reddy
I’m defending Revanth Reddy. Lord Ram wears a lot of ornaments. He looks rich, whereas Lord Shiva, with no clothes, physically looks poor. That is the difference. “Both the Gods are the same to us, and we pray to both. But unfortunately, the BJP is playing politics in the name of Lord Ram,” news agency ANI quoted Goud as saying.
Defending the chief minister, Congress state president Mahesh Kumar Goud said, “Why should he apologise? The Congress chief alleged that the BJP was trying to “own Ram” in its bid to woo voters in the elections.
