Revanth Reddy's 'Congress means Muslims' remark sparks row: 'CM should come out of his ignorance'

CM Revanth Reddy made the remark while campaigning in Shaikpet and Yousufguda divisions on Wednesday in support of Congress candidate V Naveen Yadav for the Jubilee Hills Assembly bypolls.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has drawn the ire of opposition parties due to his remark “Congress means Muslims”.

He made the remark while campaigning in Shaikpet and Yousufguda divisions on Wednesday in support of Congress candidate V Naveen Yadav for the Jubilee Hills Assembly bypolls.

"...We have appointed former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin as a minister, giving the Muslim brothers their share. Why is G Kishan Reddy upset with this?... I want to ask G Kishan Reddy that we did not ask for your father's property, nor did we ask for Narendra Modi's land in Gujarat. Our Muslim brothers' share in the Telangana state, their share in the cabinet—we made Mohammad Azharuddin a minister... By making him a minister, we gave him the minority share... Muslims mean Congress, and Congress means Muslims. Today, the strength of the Congress, the strength of the Telangana government, is their Muslim brothers and sisters. The two eyes of the Telangana government—Muslims and Hindus—we have never seen any difference between the two..." said the CM.

However, his remark evoked strong reactions from opposition parties.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao condemned Reddy’s statement.

“Muslims existed long before the Congress was formed. Revanth Reddy should come out of his ignorance. Just like there will always be Hindus even if there is no BJP, Muslims will remain even if there is no Congress,” he said.

Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao alleged that Reddy was indulging in Muslim appeasement to gain the votes of the community in the November 11 bypoll to Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency.

"It is clear that his (Reddy) comments are vote bank politics. He says Muslims get respect because of Congress. Congress did not ensure respect for Muslims. In fact, Congress hurts the respect of Muslims by treating them as vote banks. It is important whether Congress is ensuring education, medical facilities, livelihood opportunities and housing to Muslims or not," Rao told PTI

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla said that Reddy’s comment is an “open admission that Congress is not INC but JWC - Jinnah Wali Congress”. “From this it is evidently clear 1) for Congress it’s Muslim and vote bank first not Indians first, not samvidhan first 2) this is why Rahul Gandhi said “we are a Muslim party” in a closed room meeting 3) this is why they advocate for “first right of resources for Muslims not poor”- they bat for Muslim reservations against Ambedkar Ji’s ideology 4) this is why they mock Hindu Astha but justify Sir Tan Se Juda , Waqf land grab & even Shariah personal law not UCC,” he said in a post on X.