Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy has sparked a major controversy by his comments on Hindu Gods and Goddesses. BJP workers in the state took to the streets on Wednesday, protesting his remarks.
Reddy had said there are many Gods worshipped by the devotees for various reasons and there is often a difference in opinions.
“How many gods are there for Hindus? Three crore? There is Hanuman for those who are not married. There is another god for those who marry twice,” he said.
He was addressing an event of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee. News agency ANI, cited a Telangana CMO statement, quoted Reddy as saying: “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 will be there in here.”
“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 and chicken to Yellamma, Pochamma, Maisamma; and there is also a God for those who eat rice and 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,” Reddy has been quoted as saying.
“We don’t even have a [Ekabiprayam] consensus on God. One person will bow to Lord Venkateshwara, another will bow to Lord Anjaneya [Hanuman]. One person says ‘no, I will wear the Ayyappamala’ and another says, ‘I will wear the Shivamala’. When we were unable to bring consensus even on Gods, I don’t think there will be a consensus on political leaders or district presidents,” he added.
The chief minister, however, said there should be good opinion despite the difference. “If there is no good opinion, then it will not be useful to us. I don’t intend to ask how you were until yesterday. Over the course of many years, there will be people you like and people you don’t. Sometimes you feel someone didn’t greet you, or if you greeted them, they didn’t return it, there will be these small, minor issues,” he said.
The BJP slammed Reddy for his remarks, calling them “anti-Hindu”. Party workers spilled onto Hyderabad streets chanting slogans.
“Whether it is Maulana Madani or Congress, both are saying the same things. I condemn what the Congress leader and Telangana CM Revanth Reddy said on Hindu Gods and Goddesses. This shows the poison in Congress against Hindus. Revanth Reddy said if gods don’t have consensus then how can we have consensus..,” BJP national spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra said.
