Many look forward to what Revanth Reddy speaks—or shall we say, blurts out. Many also wonder whether what he says is pre-planned or whether he thinks only after speaking and gauging the response. Either way, his words are acerbic, as pungent as acid can be. At the end of the day, he delivers what people anticipate from him: a generous dose of controversy and an outright onslaught from his critics. At times, he even gets away, luckily, when his bitter critics reluctantly admit there is some reasoning in what he says.
One such example is the comment he made on Gods in the Hindu religion. He intended to send a message to his party cadres, justifying the longest existence of the Congress party despite innumerable internal squabbles. He tries to argue that even as commoners, we do not have “one God” in Hinduism; that we have Gods for every purpose. But his attempt at drawing this analogy seems to have boomeranged badly—naturally prompting the BJP, like fish in water, to instantly target him for unnecessarily dragging God and religion into politics.
He even went to the extent of saying that we may have 3 crore Gods whom we worship, without being in unison under one umbrella. He uses simple, accessible language to drive home his point that even for God’s sake, Hindus have no unanimity and are free to worship all Gods in all forms for various needs. He compared Hanuman devotees who remain unmarried with those who believe in Gods worshipped by people with two wives, not to mention the idea of vegetarian and non-vegetarian Gods.
In this regard, he seems quite sure of what he spoke and how it should be imbibed, instead of being twisted to suit others’ narratives. Instead of simply castigating his party members for unruly behaviour and cadre indiscipline, he tries to justify that democracy in its rampant form is a natural part of the Congress, almost as if no other party faces such issues. In fact, senior Congress leaders frequently grumble about indiscipline, anarchy, and one-upmanship within the party—often in far larger doses than what is inherent in other parties.
Only Indira Gandhi could perhaps be credited with leading and holding the party together as one cohesive unit. Yet even she faced extreme dissidence—so much so that she once remarked that only Congress is capable of defeating Congress, and there was no need for enemy parties. Her grandson Rahul seems intent on proving that infighting will indeed be the nemesis of the very party he now carries on the shoulders of the ageing Kharge.
Freedom within the party should not translate into a free-for-all—especially when the party itself is hanging on the precipice, waiting to drop. As of now, there is no competitor for Revanth Reddy among the Chief Ministers of the few Congress-ruled states. Maybe Lalu Prasad could have come close, but he is now a flogged horse—and not a Congressman. Andhra Pradesh Dy. CM Pawan Kalyan may come somewhat close, but people still judge Revanth as someone who makes better sense than him. Renuka Chowdhury is not far behind in style, but she is not a Chief Minister for her words to command that level of national attention. Sachin Pilot is definitely a force to reckon with—and what a travesty that he is not given the importance he richly deserves.
Blending religion and politics is like crafting a customised cocktail far more potent than the readymade ones sold by the liquor industry. Like liquor, this concoction of religion and politics hits hard and rubs almost everyone the wrong way. Perhaps Revanth playing football with people may be safer than thrusting religion down someone’s throat. Maybe Messi can give him a few tips on how to play football with players, not with people who cannot afford to be kicked from all sides. (The views expressed by the author are his personal and not of the e-paper)
