JAMMU, Jun 8: Senior BJP leader and former minister Bali Bhagat on Monday came down heavily on the Congress party and Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy over his recent remarks alleging that South India was being politically sidelined and expressing concern over the dominance of leaders from northern states in key positions, accusing the Congress of deliberately sowing seeds of regional discord to revive its shrinking political fortunes.
Terming the statement “shameful, irresponsible and factually bankrupt,” Bhagat said Revanth Reddy’s remarks were not an isolated comment but part of a larger Congress strategy aimed at creating divisions among Indians on regional, linguistic and identity lines.
“Whenever Congress finds itself politically cornered, it resorts to divisive politics. Having failed to mislead people on development, governance and national security, the party is now trying to manufacture a dangerous North-South divide. This is nothing but a desperate attempt to fracture the unity of the country for electoral gains,” Bhagat said.
Referring to Revanth Reddy’s remarks in which he raised concerns about the representation of southern states and suggested that top constitutional positions were largely occupied by leaders from North India, Bhagat said the statement was not only misleading but also contrary to facts.
He said it was shocking that a sitting Chief Minister would make statements that undermine the spirit of national integration and question the inclusiveness of India’s democratic institutions.
“India’s constitutional offices are not reserved for any particular region. The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, comes from Odisha, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi hails from Gujarat. These facts alone expose the hollowness of Revanth Reddy’s narrative. Instead of respecting constitutional institutions, he has chosen to indulge in victimhood politics and spread misinformation,” Bhagat said.
The senior BJP leader alleged that Congress has consistently pursued a policy of dividing society on one pretext or another.
“From caste politics to regional politics, from language politics to appeasement politics, Congress has always thrived on creating fault lines within society. Their slogan may be ‘Bharat Jodo’, but their actions clearly reflect a ‘Bharat Todo’ mindset. They are attempting to pit one state against another and one region against another, which is highly dangerous for the country’s unity and integrity,” he said.
Bhagat asserted that India’s strength lies in its diversity and that every region, language and community has an equal stake in the nation’s progress.
“No leader has the right to insult the collective aspirations of 140 crore Indians by portraying any region as superior or inferior. India is one nation, one people and one destiny—from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Kutch to Kamrup. The Congress leadership must stop encouraging such divisive rhetoric and answer whether it endorses Revanth Reddy’s remarks,” he added.
Demanding an unconditional apology from the Telangana Chief Minister, Bhagat said the Congress high command cannot remain silent on statements that threaten national cohesion.
“The people of India have repeatedly rejected politics of division. Congress should apologize to the nation for its continuous attempts to create artificial fault lines among Indians. No amount of political desperation can justify rhetoric that undermines national unity and weakens the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’,” he said.
Bhagat reiterated that India’s democratic framework has always provided equal opportunities to citizens from every corner of the country and warned that attempts to create regional fault lines for political gains would be firmly rejected by the people.