Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy stirred a hornet’s nest as he tried to draw a cultural contrast between the North and South India, classifying North Indians as Aryans who worship Lord Ram, and South Indians as Dravidians who are devotees of Lord Shiva.
He also described Lord Ram as the “God of the rich”, and Lord Shiva as the “God of the poor”, sparking immediate backlash in the state.
He made the remarks during a media conclave in New Delhi on Monday.
“We are Dravidians. Here (North India), people are Aryans. We are devotees of Shiva, while people here are devotees of Lord Ram,” Revanth Reddy said. He went on to characterise Ram as a ruler’s deity, calling him the “God of the rich”, and Lord Shiva as a representative of the working class, alluding to the idea that Shiva was the “God of the poor”.
These comments led to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress locking horns once again, with the senior Telangana BJP leadership accusing the state’s ruling party of manufacturing and weaponising a North-South divide to fracture national unity.
While the senior Telangana Congress leadership in the state has not officially reacted, a few spokespersons came out in support.
“In the Hindu pantheon, there are many deities who are worshipped. If the BJP has owned Ram, there should not be any issue if we choose to worship Shiva. The chief minister’s comments should be seen as part of a broader argument that points to differences between the political cultures in north and south India,” TPCC spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin told ThePrint.
Revanth Reddy was in Delhi to meet senior Congress leaders and other CMs of Congress-led states, and press for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls issue.
Revanth Reddy’s comments evoked sharp responses from BJP Telangana President Ramchander Rao, Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and former BJP National President of Backward Classes, K Laxman.
They accused the Congress of manufacturing a North-South divide for electoral advantage. They said the comments were made because of the upcoming parliamentary delimitation and the by-election in Khairatabad.
On his X handle, Bandi Sanjay said, “CM Revanth Reddy, who says ‘Muslim is Congress, Congress is Muslim’, is now drawing political boundaries between Lord Ram & Lord Shiva. Being the CM of Telangana that has “Dakshina Kashi” at Vemulawada and “Dakshina Ayodhya” at Bhadrachalam, Revanth Reddy should know better than to divide Lord Rama and Lord Shiva into North and South. Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi ji represents Varanasi. Who is at the spiritual heart of Varanasi? Kashi Vishwanath, Lord Shiva.”
CM Revanth Reddy who says ‘Muslim is Congress, Congress is Muslim’ is now drawing political boundaries between Lord Ram & Lord Shiva.
Being the CM of Telangana that has “Dakshina Kashi” at Vemulawada and “Dakshina Ayodhya” at Bhadrachalam, Revanth Reddy should know better than… pic.twitter.com/CdxMEb2aq3
— Bandi Sanjay Kumar (@bandisanjay_bjp) September 28, 2026
At a press conference in Hyderabad to denounce the CM’s remarks, Ramchander Rao called for an apology. “Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who seeks to divide society by pitting Ram against Shiva, must immediately and unconditionally apologise to the Hindu community. These are anti-Hindu conspiracies just for the Khairtabad by-election.”
Mr. Revanth Reddy, your latest remarks are another example of Congress politics built around divisions: caste and community, Aryan vs Dravidian, North vs South, rich vs poor, and now even Ram bhakts vs Shiva bhakts. Political divisions were apparently not enough, now you are… https://t.co/NKhWKvhcpJ
— Dr K Laxman (@drlaxmanbjp) September 29, 2026
K Laxman said the CM’s remarks were an example of Congress’ politics built around divisions—caste and community, Aryan versus Dravidian, North versus South, rich versus poor, and now Ram bhakts pitted against Shiva bhakts.
“Political divisions were apparently not enough; now you are drawing boundaries between our Gods too. Political differences with Modi Ji or the BJP cannot justify dividing the faith of millions. Telangana deserves governance, not politics that divides people by region and then attempts to divide Ram from Shiva,” he said on his handle.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also read: Revanth vs KCR: BRS goes on offensive, lashes out at Telangana CM over land ownership allegations
Laughable that the BJP seeks an apology from Revanth Reddy for dividing people using religion. Didn’t they invent this game?
Isn’t Lord Shiva centered in Mount Kailash up in the Himalayas? Last I checked, nobody sees snow and Kailasa sitting next to Hussain Sagar. By this bizarre logic, why are ‘Dravidian’ politicians and devotees praying to a ‘North Indian’ God like Shiva?
Also, every Sri Rama Navami, the Chief Minister of Telangana officially travels to Bhadrachalam, Telangana. Do you know what he does there? He offers silk clothes and pearls to Lord Rama on behalf of the state government.
If Sri Rama is ‘only for the rich,’ why does the Telangana state government officially fund and participate in the Sri Rama Navami celebrations at Bhadrachalam, with the CM presenting the traditional gifts ?
The sheer hypocrisy of this individual, who hopped from Rss to Tdp to Khangress, trying to divide Mahadeva and Sri Rama along class lines for cheap political points is embarrassing.