'Ram God of rich, Shiva of poor': Revanth Reddy's remarks trigger political row

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has sparked a political controversy with remarks contrasting the religious and political identities of northern and southern India. Speaking at a media event in New Delhi on Monday, Reddy questioned the BJP’s repeated use of the slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders do not similarly chant ‘Har Har Mahadev’.

"We are Dravidians; they are Aryans. We are devotees of Lord Shiva, while they are devotees of Lord Ram," Reddy said. Reddy described Lord Shiva as the “God of the poor” and Lord Ram as the “God of the rich”, while also acknowledging that both deities are revered by devotees. His comments came while he was making an argument about broader political and cultural differences between northern and southern India. The Telangana chief minister also raised concerns over the proposed Lok Sabha delimitation exercise, arguing that an increase in parliamentary seats based primarily on population could affect the political representation and influence of southern states.

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The remarks drew a strong response from BJP leader and Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who accused Reddy of attempting to create divisions between devotees of Lord Shiva and Lord Ram. Kumar pointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s association with the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and cited Modi’s visit to Vemulawada while responding to Reddy’s claim about BJP leaders and Lord Shiva.

"Revanth Reddy who earlier said Muslim is 'Congress, Congress is Muslim' is now drawing political boundaries between Lord Ram and Lord Shiva. Being the chief minister of Telangana that has Dakshina Kashi at Vemulawada and Dakshina Ayodhya at Bhadrachalam, Reddy should know better than to divide Lord Ram and Lord Shiva into north and south," Kumar said. Kumar alleged that the Congress was using religious and regional identities for political mobilisation and urged Reddy not to portray Hindu traditions as divided along geographical or social lines.

The exchange comes amid a wider political debate over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the representation of southern states in Parliament. Reddy and other Congress leaders have raised concerns about the potential political implications of delimitation and called for greater representation for southern states, particularly in the context of population-based seat allocation.