Suspended over the Prophet remarks row, T Raja Singh reinstated by BJP to fuel Telangana campaign

So far, Singh has not been participating in the party’s campaigning activities in the state.

The BJP’s decision came after Singh said he would contest in the Assembly polls as an Independent if the party did not lift his suspension and give him a ticket. He however said he would still support the saffron party if he won.

The BJP central disciplinary committee’s decision came after “due consideration of his explanation” in response to the show-cause notice served by the party, Telangana party chief and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said.

In the 2018 Assembly elections, amid a pro-Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) wave, Singh was the only sitting BJP MLA, out of total five, who retained his seat.

Last August, the BJP central leadership had suspended Singh after he was arrested by the Hyderabad police for his alleged derogatory remarks against the Prophet in a video he had posted on social media. The party leadership had issued a show-cause notice to him, saying he had violated the BJP constitution, and asked him to give a written reply.

Singh had allegedly made the remarks while attacking stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui, prior to his performance in Hyderabad. Though he tried to downplay it as a “comedy video”, saying he made no mention of the Prophet, the police registered cases against him after protests by Muslim organisations.

In his reply to the BJP’s show-cause notice in October last year, Singh, who was in jail at the time, claimed that false cases were filed against him by the state government at the behest of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). He said he opposed the Telangana government’s invitation to Faruqui to hold a show in Hyderabad, claiming there were allegations against Faruqui over provoking communal tensions by allegedly making remarks against Hindu deities. As the BJP’s leader in the legislature, he said he appealed to the BRS government to cancel Faruqui’s show.

“The state government not only ignored my suggestion but instead invited him and provided security. As many as 500 BJP activists, including me, were arrested for protesting Faruqui’s show. I made a video to make people understand how Faruqui does his show. I neither belittled any religion nor did I criticise the gods of any religions. I didn’t mention the name of any individual. I only imitated Faruqui, that too, based on information on Google. Hence, I believe that I have not violated the constitution of the BJP as mentioned in the disciplinary notice,” Singh said in his reply.

In November last year, Singh was granted conditional bail by the Telangana High Court after nearly three months in jail. He has since faced FIRs for hate speeches in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Earlier this week though, the Karnataka High Court quashed the criminal proceedings against him.

A two-time MLA from Goshamahal, the 46-year-old Singh, popularly known as Raja Bhaiya and Tiger Raja, has a huge following in his constituency and surrounding areas in Hyderabad, especially as a staunch “gau rakshak”.

A member of the Bajrang Dal, Singh entered politics in 2009 as a Telugu Desam Party municipal councillor from Mangalhat. Ahead of the 2014 general elections, he joined the BJP and was successful in wresting the Goshamahal Assembly seat from the Congress.

Singh has more than 75 FIRs against him, mostly related to hate speeches, violation of curfew orders, and disruption of law and order. He often issues statements or puts up social media posts threatening those who oppose the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

When the row over his remarks against the Prophet first erupted, BJP leaders said Singh’s remarks embarrassed the party and deviated attention from its aggressive campaign against the BRS and the Opposition Congress on key issues such as corruption and dynasty politics. The remarks also went against the stated position of the party on controversial comments on religious personalities, they said, adding that though Singh is “an important and hard working leader with ground level support … he should have stayed within limits”.

Sources in the BJP said party leaders do not always agree with what Singh says or does. “He makes his own decisions. He hardly meets or confers with party leaders and remains aloof. Senior leaders tolerate him because he is a loyal member of the party,” a BJP functionary had said last year.