BJP MP equates Telangana formation to Partition, puts BJP in dock

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s remarks comparing Telangana’s formation to Partition triggered a political controversy. While Telangana MPs remained silent in Parliament, BRS leaders strongly criticised the comments and demanded an unconditional apology from the BJP leadership.

Hyderabad: In a remark that triggered furore among people of Telangana, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya equated the formation of Telangana State with the Partition of India. While the analogy received sharp backlash across the State, both the BJP and Congress MPs from Telangana in the Lok Sabha remained silent.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha while batting for the Centre’s delimitation push, Surya declared that the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh was handled worse than Partition. He accused Congress governments of resorting to postponement or making matters worse in crucial issues plaguing the country. “The Congress-led UPA government divided the undivided Andhra Pradesh into AP and Telangana. The partition of AP and Telangana was done in a worse fashion than the British did during the Partition of India and Pakistan. This is the kind of legacy that they have,” he remarked.

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Surya went on to dismiss concerns from southern States over delimitation, insisting they had never had it better under the current NDA regime. He brushed aside Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s proposal linking representation to economic performance as foolish and laughable, and accused Opposition parties of peddling propaganda.

The comment quickly spiralled into a full-blown controversy, drawing strong reactions from netizens. What surprised many as much as the remark itself was the silence it was met with. Not a single MP from Telangana, which has eight MPs each from the BJP and Congress, rose to challenge the comparison on the floor of the House.

The response outside Parliament was sharper, with the BRS launching a strong attack on the BJP and demanding an unconditional apology. BRS working president KT Rama Rao accused the BJP of repeatedly insulting Telangana’s identity and the sacrifices behind its statehood. He termed the comparison utterly foolish and said it exposed the party’s deep-rooted hostility towards Telangana.

Reminding that Telangana was achieved through decades of struggle and not as an act of political charity, he said the Partition remarks exposed a lack of respect for the identity and sacrifices that led to the State formation. “From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to MP Tejasvi Surya, the BJP consistently took an anti-Telangana stand. Such remarks would not be forgotten by the people of the State,” he warned.

He targeted the silence of MPs from Telangana. He said it was shameful that BJP and Congress MPs from the State did not even object when the remarks were made in Parliament. He questioned how they would face the public after failing to defend the State’s dignity. He demanded that the BJP MP immediately withdraw his comments and issue an unconditional apology. He also said the BJP must clarify its stand, warning that silence would be seen as endorsement.

BRS deputy floor leader T Harish Rao condemned the remarks as an insult to the self-respect of four crore people. He said equating Telangana’s formation with a hateful division belittled the sacrifices of thousands of students, youth and activists who participated in the statehood movement.

He also slammed both BJP and Congress MPs from Telangana for remaining silent during the remarks, calling them mere figureheads.

He demanded that both Surya and the BJP leadership issue a public apology, warning that silence would be seen as endorsement. He also questioned the BJP’s stand, pointing out that the party had supported the bifurcation Bill earlier.

He accused the BJP of deliberately hurting regional sentiments and warned of a strong democratic response. He stressed that Telangana’s history of struggle and sacrifice cannot be trivialised and that any attempt to undermine it would be firmly resisted.

The controversy has also put the spotlight on Revanth Reddy’s proposed delimitation model, which Surya dismissed as unconstitutional and laughable. Surya claimed that southern States benefited significantly under the Narendra Modi government and dismissed concerns that delimitation would hurt their representation.

Controversial remarks from the BJP against the formation of Telangana are not new. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made controversial comments on Telangana’s formation. “The Congress gave birth to a child by killing the mother,” he remarked.