BJP suspends its MLA over Prophet remark
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday suspended Telangana lawmaker T Raja Singh for violating the party’s constitution, hours after he was arrested for allegedly making derogatory comments against Prophet Mohammed, which sparked protests in Hyderabad.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday suspended Telangana lawmaker T Raja Singh for violating the party’s constitution, hours after he was arrested for allegedly making derogatory comments against Prophet Mohammed, which sparked protests in Hyderabad.
Singh’s suspension comes months after the BJP suspended Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal for their derogatory comments on Prophet Mohammed that kicked up a wave of international condemnation, especially from Muslim-majority countries in West and Southeast Asia.
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Singh, known for his hardline religious rhetoric, was issued a show cause notice by the BJP, asking him to explain within 10 days why he should not be expelled from the party.
”You have expressed views contrary to the party’s position on various matters, which is in clear violation... of the constitution of the BJP. I have been directed to convey to you that pending further inquiry, you are suspended from the party and from your responsibilities/assignments if any, with immediate effect,” said a notice signed by Om Pathak, the secretary of BJP’s central disciplinary committee.
The notice didn’t specifically mention Singh’s comment, which was made in a video shared on a YouTube channel, Sree Ram Channel Telangana, late on Monday night. Singh made the comments following his detention by the Hyderabad police in connection Munawar Faruqui, who performed in the city on August 20.
Pathak asked Singh to “show cause” within 10 days from the date of this notice as to why he should not be expelled from the party. “Your detailed reply must reach the undersigned no later than 2nd of September 2022.”
Singh, the lawmaker from Goshamahal in Hyderabad, was arrested on Tuesday morning, a day after he released a video criticising stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui, who had recently performed in Hyderabad. Singh was also purportedly seen making some comments aimed at the Prophet.
G Koteshwara Rao, a local police officer, said Singh was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code sections including 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion).
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The FIR was filed on the basis of a complaint lodged by activist Md Wajihudiddin Salman early on Tuesday. “A case was registered against the MLA under Section 153 (A) (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion); 295 (A) (Making comments in words or in writing with deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class), 505 (1) (B) (C) (making statements that incite communal violence), 505 (2) (making statements to create enmity and hatred between classes) and 506 (criminal intimidation),” Koteshwara Rao said.
In his police complaint, Salman said Singh used vulgar language against the Prophet in the video. The video was later removed.
In the evening, the Nampally metropolitan magistrate court granted bail to Singh, saying the police did not follow proper procedure such as issuance of prior notice before arresting him.
“The court granted him bail saying that the police have not followed prescribed rules before arresting him. However, the court asked the MLA to submit personal surety for ₹20,000 and also ordered that he should not make any further inciting statements,” Singh’s lawyer Karunasagar said, citing Supreme Court guidelines which mandate that the police should serve a notice under Section 41 of the of Criminal Procedure Code before arresting an elected representative.
The MLA was later released.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that it was a deliberate attempt by Singh to hurt the sentiments of the Muslims, so that there would be communal disturbances and polarisation.
“It was not a controversial statement, but a deliberate attempt to insult the Muslim community, which he hates. First, it was Nupur Sharma who made such offensive statements and now, Raja Singh made it. It means the BJP party is determined to hurt the sentiments of Muslims because it hates the community,” Owaisi told reporters at the party headquarters, Darussalam.
Telangana is slated for a high-voltage assembly election next year.
Ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi alleged that the BJP was trying to whip up communal passions in the otherwise peaceful state for its political gains. “It is seeking to destroy the communal harmony and tranquillity in the state. The BJP MLA’s comments are highly condemnable,” senior TRS leader and state social welfare minister Koppula Eshwar said in a statement.
In the morning, scores of slogan-shouting AIMIM workers staged a sit-in in front of the Hyderabad Police chief’s office demanding Singh’s immediate arrest. Police detained some protestors as they tried to barge into the commissioner’s office. Amanullah Khan, a local leader, said over 200 people were arrested while staging protests against Singh.
A tense atmosphere prevailed in Hyderabad since Tuesday morning, as several Muslim groups organised protests at different police stations, including Bhavaninagar, Dabeerpura and Nampally.
There were demonstrations at Bahadurpura, Jalpally, Shaheennagar, Amberpet and other locations. Shops and commercial establishments in some areas remained closed with the managements of several schools declared a holiday.
Comments by Sharma and Jindal in triggered a diplomatic row. Countries in West and South-East Asia denounced the comments. Kuwait, Qatar, and Iran were among the countries that summoned Indian ambassadors to protest. The Supreme Court pulled up Sharma for her remarks saying “her loose tongue has set the entire country on fire”. Sharma made the remarks during a TV debate, sparking violent protests in many parts of the country.
There was no immediate response from the BJP on Singh’s arrest.
Singh, a two-time MLA from Goshamahal, is known for making such his controversial comments.
In August 2018, Singh warned of mob lynching if the Telangana government failed to stop slaughter of cows and health bulls during Bakrid. In February this year, the Election Commission issued him a notice for allegedly threatening to use bulldozers on those voting against the BJP.
Before his arrest on Tuesday, too, Singh said what he had said in the video was only first part and asked the people to watch out for the second part. Social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, banned Singh in 2020 for allegedly promoting hate.
