Hyderabad
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday reacted sharply to Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s recent comments equating Congress with Muslims, asserting that the Chief Minister has realized his party has nothing to do with Hindutva and is concerned only about the Muslim community.
Reddy, addressing a corner meeting in Hyderabad’s Shaikpet division earlier this week, said, It is only Congress that gave big posts to the minorities. Congress means Muslims, and Muslims mean Congress. In our government, Hindus and Muslims are all equal. We don’t discriminate.
Responding to this, Dubey told, Revanth is a very good friend of ours. He has worked with us. Revanth’s pain has come out, and he has understood it. Congress has nothing to do with Hindutva and only cares about Muslims. He has spoken the truth.
Revanth Reddy had further claimed that he won the Kodangal Assembly seat three times with the support of minorities and emphasized that no community faced discrimination under the 20-month Congress rule in Telangana. Reiterating his commitment to minority welfare, Reddy accused the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of deceiving Muslims and predicted that the party would soon merge with the BJP.
However, his remarks sparked widespread criticism from opposition parties and Muslim groups, who accused him of making condescending statements suggesting that Muslims owe their existence to Congress. The groups termed his reported comment, Congress hai toh Musalman hai, Congress nahi toh aap kuch nahi, as insulting and demanded a public apology.
In response, Reddy clarified that his words were distorted and reaffirmed his secular credentials, stating that he has upheld secular values since entering politics. The controversy has added fuel to the already heated political climate ahead of Telangana’s upcoming local elections.