'Shiva god of poor, Ram of rich': Telangana CM's off-the-cuff remark draws BJP's ire

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy made a controversial remark comparing Lord Shiva to the God of the poor and Lord Ram to the God of the rich while criticizing the BJP. He suggested that the BJP had "stolen" Lord Ram and attributed their electoral success in North India to their association with devotees of the Lord. Reddy emphasized that Telangana residents are devotees of Lord Shiva, while those in the North are devotees of Lord Ram.

He questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not make the same fervent calls as the BJP, who prefer "Jai Sri Ram."

The BJP responded strongly to Reddy's comments, accusing him of creating political divisions between Lord Ram and Lord Shiva. Union minister Sanjay Kumar Bandi accused Reddy of drawing similar lines between the two deities on a political level. Bandi pointed out that Reddy, who represents Telangana, which has significant significance for both Lord Ram and Lord Shiva, should avoid such divisions.

He also noted that Prime Minister Modi has visited the Varanasi Kashi Vishwanath temple, making him the first Prime Minister since Independence to do so from Vemulawada, Telangana.

Reddy called on opposition parties to unite against the proposed Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He likened the SIR to the “Simon, go back” movement, alleging that SIR was aimed at deleting votes to benefit the BJP. Reddy also discussed his administration's focus on education, mentioning the establishment of the Young India Skills University.