'Grave insult to Telangana's daughters': BRS slams Congress over video of women helping wash Miss World contestants' feet

The contestants, dressed in sarees, visited the historical Ramappa Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of their heritage tour in the state on Wednesday.

Hyderabad: A video showing local women assisting Miss World contestants in washing their feet at a temple has ignited a political controversy in Telangana. Opposition parties BRS and BJP have accused the Congress government of compromising Telangana's "self-respect" and insulting the dignity of local women, many of whom were reportedly from tribal and Dalit communities.

The footage, captured at the historic 1000-pillar Ramappa Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mulugu district on Wednesday, shows women volunteers helping beauty pageant contestants rinse their feet and drying them with towels.

According to the Miss World organization's social media, this ritual was part of a traditional purification practice observed before entering sacred temple grounds. Their official Instagram post described the act as intended to "cleanse the physical and spiritual self" and presented it as showing respect for local customs.

On Wednesday evening, around 55 beauty queens from various countries visited the Kakatiya Rudreshwara temple, popularly known as Ramappa temple, dressed in traditional attire including sarees and bindis.

The district administration welcomed them with traditional Kommu Koya and other cultural dances. The contestants, participating in the 72nd Miss World competition, are being taken on guided tours of important locations across Telangana. Divided into two groups, they have already visited Charminar, Chowmahalla Palace, and other landmarks in Hyderabad. Additional site visits are scheduled before the contest's closing ceremony on May 31.

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy condemned the incident as "a shocking display of servility," claiming that the Telangana Congress government compelled local women to wash and wipe the feet of Miss World contestants "a humiliating act that reeks of colonial-era mindset."

"Further, this occurred within the sanctity of the Ramappa Temple and in close proximity to where the divine Goddesses Sammakka and Saralamma are revered. The Congress Government should be ashamed that in a land where the valor of Rani Rudramma Devi is passed down through generations, they have reduced Telangana women to washing foreigners' feet," he stated.

He elaborated that for millennia, India's cultural ethos has centered around the concept of "Athithi Devo Bhava" treating guests as divine. "However, while respecting guests, lowering the self-respect of our own women is unacceptable. The Miss World platform offered a perfect opportunity to showcase Indian culture and hospitality to the contestants, but the Telangana Government squandered this opportunity. It has degraded our women's self-respect, and the Bharatiya Janata Party strongly condemns the Congress government's actions. The Congress party's century-old legacy of making Indians kneel before foreigners to appease their high command is evident. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, in his desperate bid to impress Delhi bosses, has trampled on the dignity and self-respect of Indian women," he added.

Reddy demanded an unconditional apology from Congress national leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to the women of Telangana for what he termed "blasphemy" and for "surrendering the dignity, culture, and self-respect of our Nari Shakti."

In a detailed letter to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, former ministers and public representatives from the BRS have condemned the Telangana Congress government's actions. They urged her immediate intervention to restore the dignity of the state's women and address mounting public discontent. BRS women leaders, including former ministers Sabitha Indra Reddy, Satyavati Rathod, Sunita Laxma Reddy, and MLA Kova Laxmi, have forcefully demanded an apology from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.

The BRS leaders expressed profound anguish over what they described as a "disgraceful and humiliating act" orchestrated under Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's leadership. They accused the Congress government of insulting Telangana's women and tarnishing the state's cultural heritage. They called on Sonia Gandhi, as a senior Congress leader, to ensure the Chief Minister issues an unconditional public apology to Telangana's women and takes corrective measures to prevent further damage to the state's pride.

The letter warns that if such actions remain unaddressed, they risk alienating Telangana's four crore people and could provoke a fierce backlash from the state's women against the Congress party.

BRS leaders characterized the incident as a "shameful betrayal" of Telangana's identity and the legacy of the statehood movement.