BJP Blames Congress for Removing Lord Ram Idol from Hyderabad's Basheerbagh Chowrasta

On 22 May 2024, a Lord Ram idol that had been erected at Basheerbagh Chowrasta in Hyderabad for the Dussehra celebrations was removed by the temple trust after a directive from the city’s civic authorities, citing a Supreme Court ruling that bars unauthorized religious structures on public roads.

The idol had been installed earlier that month by Hindu groups during Vijayadashami, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had demanded that the crossroads be renamed ‘Sriram Chowk’.

BJP’s Telangana unit reacted to the removal by calling the Congress government’s action an ‘anti‑Hindu’ act and warned that the party would not be forgiven, with BJP president N. Ramchander Rao tweeting that ‘wrath awaits the Congress’.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly issued directives to eliminate religious symbols on public utility spaces, a precedent that the city cited when ordering the removal; similar disputes have surfaced in other states, including a 1949 incident in Uttar Pradesh when the Congress government was pressured to remove a Ram Lalla idol.

BJP has urged its supporters to mobilise mass protests against the Congress and to boycott its rallies, signalling a planned campaign to hold the party accountable for what it describes as an anti‑Hindu stance.