Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has ignited widespread outrage across the country following divisive comments regarding Bhagwan Ram and Bhagwan Shiva. By attempting to draw artificial political, regional, and class fault lines between Hindu believers, the Congress leader is facing sharp criticism for resorting to cheap vote-bank politics and insulting Hindu sentiments.
Speaking at the Pratidin Conclave of an Assam daily in Delhi on September 28, on the subject ‘India’s Next Chapter’, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy sought to divide the nation along regional and religious lines. “We South Indians are Dravidians, while leaders from North India are Aryans. We are Shiva bhakts, while North Indian leaders are Ram bhakts,” he claimed.
Escalating his controversial rhetoric further, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy attempted to assign socio-economic divisions to sacred figures, asserting, “Sri Ram is the God of the rich, while Shiva is the God of the poor.”
The Chief Minister’s attempts to fragment Hindu society and politicise sacred traditions were met with swift and fierce condemnation from citizens, political leaders, and social media users, who slammed the Congress party’s habit of dividing the majority community.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), on September 29, criticised CM Revanth Reddy over his remarks contrasting Bhagwan Ram and Bhagwan Shiva, alleging that the Congress has “spared no effort” to divide Hindu society and calling it “the most despicable attack on the Hindu faith”.
VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal alleged that, following the British policy of “divide and rule”, the Congress has, over the past 76 years, made every effort to divide Hindu society based on caste, creed, sect, language and region.
“But no one could have imagined that Congress leaders, as the last passengers on its sinking ship, would stoop so low as to start dividing even Hindu deities,” Bansal said in a post on X.
अंग्रेजों की फूट डालो और राज करो की नीति पर चलते हुए कांग्रेस ने पिछले 76 वर्षों में हिंदू समाज को जाति मत-पंथ संप्रदाय भाषा और क्षेत्र के आधार पर बांटने में कोई कोर कसर नहीं छोड़ी।
किंतु, अब उसके डूबते हुए जहाज के अंतिम यात्री के रूप में कांग्रेस के नेता इतने नीचे गिर जाएंगे कि…— विनोद बंसल Vinod Bansal বিনোদ বনসল వినోద్ బన్సాల్ (@vinod_bansal) September 29, 2026
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said, “Revanth Reddy does not know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the MP from Kashi. Kashi echoes with the chant of Har-Har Mahadev, and the whole country echoes with it. The Bharatiya Janata Party does not need Revanth Reddy’s certificate. But to say that Shri Ram has been captured, what kind of absurd statement is that?…”
Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, termed Reddy’s remarks as extremely atrocious. He posted on X that the Congress party has started to divide Hindu Gods.
Extremely Atrocious!! Now, Congress party has started to divide Hindu Gods. pic.twitter.com/Kx9MKrn4kD
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) September 29, 2026
Amit Kumar Sindhi, an influencer on X, voiced his disgust over the statement:
Shame on Revanth Reddy.
After dividing people on the basis of religion, caste and rich vs poor, Congress is now stooping to the level of dividing even Gods.
Revanth Reddy says BJP’s God is Lord Ram, while South India’s God is Lord Shiva. He even reduces Lord Shiva to the "God… pic.twitter.com/V5Fw3WRKR6
— Amit Kumar Sindhi (@AMIT_GUJJU) September 28, 2026
“Shame on Revanth Reddy. After dividing people on the basis of religion, caste and rich vs poor, the Congress is now stooping to the level of dividing even Gods.”
“I have honestly never heard such a disgusting and absurd statement from a political leader. Imagine dragging even Lord Ram and Lord Shiva into your petty political divisions. Revanth Reddy being called one of the most shameless politicians is not without reason.”
Influencer BhikuMhatre slammed Reddy for his remarks.
Sometimes I feel CM Revanth Reddy is new Digvijay Singh.
"Our God is Bhagwan Shiv, BJP's God is Bhagwan Ram"
Now he's put CONgress in tight spot.
If this's case:
-CONgesss must support restoration of Gyanvapi Shiv Temple. Will it?
-Must tell why Nehru opposed construction of…— BhikuMhatre (@MumbaichaDon) September 29, 2026
He said, “Sometimes I feel CM Revanth Reddy is new Digvijay Singh. “Our God is Bhagwan Shiv, BJP’s God is Bhagwan Ram” Now he’s put CONgress in tight spot. If this’s case: -Congesss must support restoration of Gyanvapi Shiv Temple. Will it? -Must tell why Nehru opposed construction of Somnath Temple?”
Megh Updates also criticised the Chief Minister on X, saying, “Congress Telangana CM Revanth Reddy now creates a divide between Hindu gods in the context of the North-South divide? Shiva is the God of the poor Rama is the God of the rich We are devotees of Shiva, North Indians are devotees of Rama We are Dravidians, Northerners are Aryans That’s why BJP folks chant “Jai Shri Ram”.. Have BJP folks ever said “Har Har Mahadev”?”
Congress Telangana CM Revanth Reddy now creates a divide between Hindu gods in the context of the North-South divide?
Shiva is the God of the poor
Rama is the God of the richWe are devotees of Shiva,
North Indians are devotees of RamaWe are Dravidians,
Northerners…— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) September 29, 2026
Writer Bala also strongly criticised the Congress leader’s divisive agenda on X:
“Division is so ingrained in the DNA of Congressis that after dividing Hindus, now they even want to divide our Gods. These Congressis test water with such statements and then increase the intensity of the attack if Hindus don’t retaliate enough.”
The controversial remarks have once again brought the Congress party’s polarising tactics under the scanner, as leaders across political lines unite to condemn this calculated effort to sow discord among Hindu devotees for narrow political gains.
BJP leader and Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind reacted over the Chief Minister’s remark by posting a shloka, which said there is no difference between Ram and Shiva.
शिवाय विष्णुरूपाय शिवरूपाय विष्णवे ।
शिवस्य हृदयं विष्णुः विष्णोश्च हृदयं शिवः ॥यथा शिवमयो विष्णुरेवं विष्णुमयः शिवः ।
यथान्तरं न पश्यामि तथा मे स्वस्तिरायुषि ॥English rendering: “Salutations to Shiva who is in the form of Vishnu, and to Vishnu who is in the form of Shiva.… pic.twitter.com/kem2spL6Tb
— Arvind Dharmapuri (@Arvindharmapuri) September 29, 2026
Dinesh Chowdhary said on X, “Well, definitely, Revanth Reddy’s statements can be seen as him taking a leaf out of his inspiration’s book. And you all know, he openly said that his inspiration is Hitler, which is about divide and rule. Now, he is even trying to divide the gods on the basis of wealth and regions. India is a secular country, and everybody has the freedom to practice their religion. We have never seen gods being differentiated based on either region or social status or anything else. But Revanth Reddy making these sorts of statements and trying to create a rift between Lord Rama and Lord Shiva shows his lack of intelligence or ignorance…”
The Chief Minister’s remarks have sparked massive anger across political and social circles. Opposition parties, including the BJP, along with socio-religious organisations and common citizens, have united in opposing Reddy’s statements.
