Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday accused the BJP of distorting his comments made during a Congress party meeting out of frustration after forfeiting the deposit in the recent bye-election to the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency.
The Chief Minister stated that during a meeting of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) executive, he told the District Congress Committee presidents that Congress is like a Hindu society.
The Chief Minister said he made the comments while advising DCC presidents how to function as the party leaders.
He said the opposition “edited” his comments to create a controversy. Revanth Reddy remarked that he was happy as he was “being made popular” in North India.
The Chief Minister was talking to the media in Delhi after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some Central ministers to invite them to the Telangana Rising Global Summit scheduled to be held in Hyderabad on December 8-9.
The comments made by the Chief Minister during the TPCC executive meeting triggered a row, with the BJP accusing him of insulting Hindus and Hindu deities.
The BJP has called for protests across Telangana on Wednesday, demanding the Chief Minister’s apology for his remarks.
He made the comments while explaining how the Congress party takes along all kinds of people with different mindsets and while advising new DCC presidents to ignore minor issues while discharging their duties.
“Because there is freedom in the Congress, the party has existed for 140 years. If there were no freedom, it would have shut down long ago, like the other regional parties, like the Janata Party, and like the other parties. People with all kinds of mindsets are here,” he said.
“How many Gods are there in Hinduism? How many deities? Are there 3 crore? Why? There is Hanuman for those who don’t get married, there is another God for those who marry twice, there is one God for those who drink alcohol, there are people who offer Alcohol & Chicken to Yellamma, Pochamma, Maisamma and there is also a God for those who eat Rice & Dal. Isn’t that right? There are all kinds of Gods. The Congress party is also a party that takes along all kinds of people with all kinds of mindsets,” he said.
The BJP condemned the Chief Minister’s remarks.
State BJP president N Ramchander Rao alleged that by using derogatory language against Hindu deities and gods, and making inappropriate remarks against Hindu society, Revanth Reddy has “exposed his hatred towards Hindus”.
