New Delhi [India], December 3 : Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday slammed Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for his alleged remarks against the Hindu community.
Speaking to ANI outside the Parliament, Joshi accused Congress of habitually "mocking" and "insulting" Hindus.
He said, "Insulting Hindus has become a habit of the Congress and their allies. Did only one community vote for the Chief Minister of Telangana? Mocking Hindu religion and Hindu faiths has become their habit."
This comes after CM Revanth Reddy at the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Executive meeting at Gandhi Bhavan, drew a vivid analogy with the plurality of beliefs within Hinduism, to describe Congress' longevity.
Reddy said just as people worship different deities based on their own preferences and life experiences, the Congress too brings together individuals of varied mindsets. "How many Gods are there in Hinduism? Three crores, they say. One person bows to Lord Venkateshwara, another to Hanuman, another wears the Ayyappa mala, and someone else follows Shiva. There are even deities to whom people offer alcohol and chicken. If we cannot have consensus even on God, how can we expect everyone to agree on one political leader?" he remarked.
This invited sharp criticism from the BJP as the party members protested against the Chief Minister across the state.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh also criticised the Telangana CM, reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's jibe of "Muslim League Congress Party".
Singh said, "The Congress has started a campaign against Hindus. Whoever says things like this neither believes in India's constitution nor has anything to do with India's culture. That person's emotions are aligned with those of the Mughal invaders. Revanth Reddy should declare the Congress Party as the Muslim League Congress Party."
However, Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy came into the CM's defence and said that the BJP is using caste and religion to politicise it in the state. He added that CM Reddy did not intend to hurt anybody's sentiments.
"In a party meeting at Gandhi Bhavan, addressing the cadres, he said that the Congress has existed for the last 140 years. There are many leaders of state units. There are followers who follow different leaders. He has compared that with Hindus following multiple gods. He talked about our own political party and why the other political parties have not existed for 140 years. The BJP is taking it the other way in the state of Telangana and trying to use caste and gods in politics again. What he said is not to hurt anybody's sentiments," the Congress MP said.