T Raja Singh, the lone BJP MLA in Telangana, has been banned by Facebook from all its platform and Instagram over content promoting violence and hate. Singh, who has recently been making it to the national headlines, is not new to the locals in southern India. He is known for his inflammatory speeches, and has over 60 cases against him — hate speeches account for most of them.
Telangana’s rabble-rouser, in fact, had north’s firebrand leader and UP CM Yogi Adityanath campaign for him during the last Telangana polls. Here are seven times when Singh appalled public with his speeches:
‘Old Hyderabad is Mini-Pakistan’
Requesting the chief minister to conduct search operation in Old City in May 2017, Singh described the area as “mini-Pakistan”. He suggested to the government that they would be “able to fine bombs and other explosives from a number of houses there”. The police had registered a case against him then.
‘Hindus in Bengal Should Respond like 2002 Gujarat’
During tension in West Bengal’s Baduria and Basirhat districts in July 2017, Singh appealed to the Hindu community in the state to respond the way Hindus in Gujarat reacted in 2002. “Today, Hindus are not safe in the West Bengal state. Hindus in Bengal should respond to people involved in communal violence as Hindus in Gujarat did. Otherwise, soon Bengal will turn into Bangladesh.” the BJP MLA had said.
Threatened to Burn Down Theatres
Singh had also threatened to burn down theatres in Hyderabad if the movie ‘Padmaavat’ was screened. Calling for a boycott of the film, the MLA said that it is “every nationalist’s duty, every Hindu’s duty and every Rajput’s duty.” Later, he wrote to CM K Chandrashekar Rao asking for a ban on the film.
‘Kashmiri Muslims are Traitors’
On one occasion, Singh had in fact called Kashmiri Muslims “traitors”. A video that went viral in May 2017, showed him asking people visiting holy sites like Amarnath not to buy anything from the people of the minority community. “If we don’t buy anything from them for a few years, these traitor Kashmiri Muslims will get on their knees and say that they don’t want Pakistan or ‘Azad Kashmir’, but that they will stay with India only,” he was heard saying.
Ready to Take a Life or Give His Life for Ram Mandir
Commenting on the Babri Masjid demolition case in April 2017, the firebrand Telangana MLA had demanded a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and said that he was ready to give his life, or take a life, for it.
‘Those Who Don’t Sing Vande Mataram Will be Sent to Pakistan’
In another instance in 2017, he threatened people to sing Vande Mataram. In a video, Singh was heard saying, “You have to sing Vande Mataram. If you don’t sing it, you have no right to be in India. You will see soon that we don’t have to put a sword to your neck. You will lower your head, get on your knees and accept to sing it because you want to stay in India.”
He also added that he has a ‘discount’ and ‘special package’ for those who refused. “For two days, we will send them to the India-Pakistan border near Punjab. We’ll send them to the Pakistan side. In two days, those who do not sing Vande Mataram will come back to India willingly,” he added in the speech. The MLA was booked by Dabeerpura Police Station in Hyderabad for his speech.
‘Pinarayi, a Murderer of Hindus’
In March, 2017, Singh threatened to stop a meeting organised by the CPI(M) in Hyderabad, which was attended by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Stating that the Hindu community was not safe in Kerala, he called Pinarayi “a murderer of Hindus”.
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