Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s remarks contrasting the political and social appeal of Lord Shiva and Lord Ram have triggered a fresh confrontation between the Congress and BJP. Reddy linked the BJP’s electoral performance in northern India to what he described as the political appropriation of Lord Ram, while the BJP accused him of creating divisions along regional and religious lines.
Reddy made the comments while addressing a media conclave in Delhi on Monday, where he was asked why the Congress has maintained a stronger political presence in parts of southern India compared with several northern, eastern and western states. Explaining the difference, he invoked distinct religious traditions associated with different regions and alleged that the BJP had politically capitalised on devotion to Lord Ram.
“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,” Reddy said.
He contrasted the slogans associated with the two traditions, asking why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders do not say “Har Har Mahadev” on public platforms. Reddy claimed that BJP leaders predominantly use “Jai Shri Ram” and suggested that this distinction was connected with the party's political appeal.
Taking the argument further, the Telangana Chief Minister said, “Shiva is the God of the poor, Ram is the God of the rich and the BJP is a party of the rich.”
The remarks immediately became a political flashpoint, with the BJP objecting strongly to the attempt to draw a north-south distinction around the worship of Hindu deities. The controversy also comes against the backdrop of continuing political disagreements between the Congress and BJP over questions of identity, religion, regional representation and electoral politics.
Union Minister of State Bandi Sanjay Kumar hit back at Reddy, arguing that the Telangana Chief Minister's own state has important centres of worship associated with both Lord Shiva and Lord Ram. He referred to Vemulawada as “Dakshina Kashi” and Bhadrachalam as “Dakshina Ayodhya”, saying Reddy should not attempt to separate the two deities along geographical lines.
Sanjay also referred to Reddy's earlier political statements and accused the Congress of attempting to create divisions based on caste, region and religion. “Congress is brewing its own Halahala: caste against caste, North against South, and now Shiva against Rama,” he said in a post on X.
The BJP leader further invoked the religious philosophy linking Shiva and Vishnu and pointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to prominent Shiva temples. He specifically cited Modi's visit to the Shri Rajarajeshwara Swamy temple in Vemulawada and his association with Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi.
“Vishnu is in the heart of Shiva, and Shiva is in the heart of Vishnu. That is Sanatana Dharma,” Sanjay said, while rejecting Reddy's suggestion that BJP leaders do not invoke “Har Har Mahadev”.
The political dispute, however, was not confined to the Shiva-Ram remarks. During the same interaction, Reddy also spoke about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and predicted that opposition parties could launch a movement against the exercise.
Drawing a parallel with the historic “Simon, go back” campaign during the freedom struggle, he suggested the possibility of a “SIR, go back” agitation. He said opposition leaders, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, would need to come together for such a campaign.
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