Politics

Amid indications that new Chief Ministers may be named over the weekend, the BJP is likely to name central observers for electing the leaders of its legislature parties in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan on Friday. 

They will then travel to the respective states to oversee the meetings of newly elected MLAs where the future Chief Ministers will be named.

The BJP criticised Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's "Bihar DNA" remark and demanded that the Congress and other members of the opposition INDIA bloc condemn his comment and ask him to apologise.

Reddy reportedly said during a recent interaction with journalists that K Chandrashekar Rao, the first chief minister of Telangana, has "Bihari genes", indicating that he was a better choice for the state than KCR. "My DNA is Telangana. KCR's DNA is Bihar. He belongs to Bihar. KCR's caste is Kurmi. They migrated from Bihar to Vijayanagaram and from there to Telangana. Telangana DNA is better than Bihar DNA," Reddy had allegedly said.

Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad termed Reddy's remarks "very shameful, divisive and arrogant" and demanded that the Congress and other INDIA bloc members condemn it.

He also demanded an apology from Reddy for making such remarks against the people of Bihar. BJP MP and former deputy chief minister of Bihar Sushil Modi also hit out at the Congress and its INDIA bloc allies over Reddy's remarks and demanded that they ask the Telangana chief minister to apologise.

He said, "The INDI Alliance members kept insulting Hindu Dharma and Sanatan Dharma. Now they have come to Bihar DNA. Is it appropriate to say that Telangana DNA is better than the Bihar DNA and make such insulting comments against the people of another state?”

The Trinamool Congress criticised Union Minister Giriraj Singh for alleged "misogynistic" comments against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was seen dancing at the Kolkata International Film Festival in a viral video.

In a video, Singh is seen questioning the appropriateness of dancing during the festival, stating, “Jashn mana rahi hai, thumke laga rahi hai, yeh uchit nahi hai. (She is celebrating and dancing, this is inappropriate).  This prompted the TMC to condemn his remarks as "inappropriate" and indicative of the BJP's struggle with women in power. “Their archaic mindset, steeped in gender biases, is blatantly on display,” the party tweeted on X.

Singh later claimed misinterpretation, stating he referred to Banerjee celebrating amid corruption issues. The TMC accused him of backtracking, adding, “This video evidence shows him to not just be uttering the words 'thumka' twice but also making gestures that leave no room for misinterpretation.”

The Congress on Thursday took a dig at the BJP for not yet announcing the chief ministers in the three states it secured in the recent assembly polls, questioning why the party was not being criticised for "what is actually a delay."

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said less than 24 hours after the election results were out on December 3, his party was being criticised in the media by all and sundry for a "so-called delay" in appointing a chief minister for Telangana. "Well, our CM was announced a day before and is taking over at 1 pm today," he said referring to A Revanth Reddy being named as the chief minister of Telangana.

But three days have gone by and the BJP has been unable to even announce its chief ministers for Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, he said.

"Why is the BJP not being called out for what is actually a delay?" Ramesh said.

Union Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai, condemned Telangana CM-designate Revanth Reddy for his alleged 'Bihar-DNA' comment, labelling it as an "insult to people of Bihar."

In an official statement on Wednesday, Rai, who represents Ujiarpur as an MP, asserted, "Reddy's remark on 'Bihar DNA' exposes the mindset of Congress leaders, who appear determined to sow discord in society based on caste and creed." Rai said that the people of Bihar would not overlook such comments from Congress leaders in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Reportedly, Reddy, in an interaction with journalists, implied that the first CM of Telangana, K Chandrashekhar Rao, had 'Bihari genes,' suggesting that he was a more suitable choice for the state than KCR. Reddy has been alleged to say that, “My DNA is Telangana. KCR's DNA is Bihar. He belongs to Bihar. KCR's caste is Kurmi. They migrated from Bihar to Vijayanagaram and from there to Telangana. Telangana DNA is better than Bihar DNA.”