VHP hits out at Revanth Reddy over remarks comparing Lord Ram, Lord Shiva
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday criticised Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy over his recent remarks comparing Lord Ram and Lord Shiva, accusing the Congress of attempting to create divisions within Hindu society.
VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal described Reddy's remarks as “the most despicable attack on the Hindu faith” and alleged that the Congress had repeatedly tried to divide Hindus on different grounds.
Reddy had made the remarks on Monday while addressing a conclave organised by a media organisation in Delhi. He said Lord Shiva was the “God of the poor”, while Lord Ram was the “God of the rich”, and described the BJP as a party of the rich.
Reddy also said the Congress has been successful mainly in southern states but has struggled in the north because the BJP had “stolen Lord Ram”, who is widely revered in northern India. He added that Lord Shiva is worshipped in the south.
Responding to the comments, Bansal alleged that the Congress had followed the British policy of “divide and rule” over the past 76 years by attempting to divide Hindu society on the basis of 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.
Bansal alleged that describing Ram as the God of the rich and Shankar as the God of the poor amounted to an attempt to divide Hindu deities.
The VHP spokesperson also referred to what he described as past positions taken by Congress leaders on matters related to Hindu faith. He alleged that members associated with the party had sought to “eradicate Sanatan Dharma”, questioned Shri Ramcharitmanas, Goswami Tulsidas and Sita, denied the existence of Lord Ram in the Supreme Court and ordered firing on unarmed Ram devotees.
Bansal questioned what the Hindu community could expect from the Congress in light of these allegations.
He also referred to a statement he attributed to Reddy during an election campaign, saying: “Congress means Muslim, and Muslim means Congress.” Bansal questioned why those whom he accused of seeking to eradicate Sanatan Dharma were now speaking about devotion to Lord Shiva.
The VHP spokesperson demanded that the Congress leadership clarify whether it would apologise for what he described as an attack on the Hindu faith, which he alleged was linked to “appeasement politics”. (with inputs from PTI)
