The Bharatiya Janata Party has strongly condemned remarks made by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy regarding Lord Ram and Lord Shiva. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, accusing it of employing all its strength to divide Hindu society. He asserted that the political rhetoric of the opposition has now degraded to the point of attempting to split even revered deities.
Questions Over Oath and Ideological Stand
Targeting Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, the BJP spokesperson referred to him as an atheist and drew a contrast between his oath-taking ceremonies. Trivedi highlighted that while Rahul Gandhi took his oath in the name of God following the 2014 general elections, he opted not to take the oath in God's name after the 2024 elections, choosing instead to take it in English. Moving forward, the BJP spokesperson referenced earlier remarks made by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy during the Jubilee Hills by-election campaign. According to Trivedi, Reddy had proclaimed that Congress means Muslims and Muslims mean Congress, which he described as revealing the core mindset of the party.
Allegations of a North-South Divide
Sudhanshu Trivedi claimed that the Congress is systematically seeking to divide society along regional geographical lines, specifically between North and South India. To substantiate his point, he cited several previous remarks made by prominent party leaders. He highlighted a statement by Karnataka leader DK Suresh regarding tax revenues, where Suresh remarked that the South pays higher taxes while the North pays less. Trivedi also brought up an earlier comment by P. Chidambaram, who suggested that the South would have progressed much further had it not been for North India.
Furthermore, Trivedi criticized Revanth Reddy for invoking the Aryan and Dravidian theories by claiming 'we are Dravidians and they are Aryans.' Dismissing this assertion entirely, Trivedi called it a foolish and baseless concept that has already been discredited across the world. He advised that the Telangana Chief Minister ought to read the works of scholars and leaders from his own party, specifically naming Sampurnanand and Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi.
Divisions Across Regions, Castes, and Gender
Broadening the scope of his criticism, the BJP spokesperson pointed out that Revanth Reddy had previously stirred controversy by making contentious statements regarding the DNA of Bihar and Telangana. Trivedi accused the Congress of actively working to divide regions, languages, and castes across the country to serve narrow political goals.
The critique also touched upon the 'smash patriarchy' slogan associated with Rahul Gandhi. Trivedi alleged that the party seeks to create conflict between men and women as well, but applies selective standards. He argued that the demand to smash patriarchy is vocalized only concerning Hindu society, whereas silence follows when religious leaders like the Grand Mufti of Kerala state that women ought to be kept like necklaces locked inside a vault.
Sharp Rebuke on the Standards of Discourse
Concluding his press briefing, Sudhanshu Trivedi expressed deep concern that political rhetoric has reached the extreme of attempting to categorize and separate Hindu gods based on economic strata. Describing this approach as one of the lowest points in Indian democratic politics, he summarized his criticism by remarking that while the British partitioned the land, current politics partitions every cultural fabric merely to secure the seat of power.
