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BJP MLA T Raja Singh, who has been given a ticket by the party after revoking his suspension, had said in his reply to the show-cause notice to him that he did not violate the BJP’s Constitution, and had defended his video and comments.
On August 23 last year, Raja Singh had set off a furore with alleged remarks against Prophet Mohammed in a video he posted on social media in response to comedian Munnawar Faruqui’s show held in Hyderabad. His remarks came at a delicate time for the BJP, following two months after the BJP suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi leader Naveen Kumar Jindal for their remarks on the Prophet. Sharma’s comments, in a TV show, had triggered an international backlash, mainly from countries in the Middle East.
At the time Raja made the remarks, the BJP was also seen as on the rise in Telangana, giving competition to the Congress as an alternative force in a state where the minorities form a substantial population. However, since then, while the BJP’s campaign is believed to have lost steam, the Congress has been gaining.
After the BJP suspended him from the party, the Hyderabad Police had arrested him.
In its notice to the Goshamahal MLA, the BJP disciplinary committee said: “You have expressed views contrary to the party’s position on various matters, which is a clear violation of Rule XXV 10 (a) 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 with immediate effect. Please also show cause within 10 days as to why you should not be expelled from the party.”
In his reply subsequently, dated October 10 last year, Raja accused the Bharat Rashtra Samithi-led state government of filing false cases against him at the behest of its ally AIMIM. Questioning the decision to allow Faruqui to hold a show in Hyderabad, Raja said: “As there exist allegations that the comedian was provoking communal tensions by making vulgar comments against Hindu gods and goddesses, I, as the BJP legislature party leader, appealed to the (BRS) government not to allow Munawar Faruqui to organise the show in Hyderabad. The state government not only ignored my suggestion but instead invited him and provided security with thousands of police. The act of the TRS government was aimed at pleasing the AIMIM party.”
He said he and 500 BJP activists had been arrested for protesting against the show, followed by “a false case against him at the behest of the AIMIM”.
Defending the contents of his video, the MLA said he had merely “imitated” Faruqui without mentioning any individuals or criticising any religion. “Soon after the show, I made a video to make people understand how Munawar Faruqui does his show. I neither belittled any religion nor did I criticise the gods of any religions in my video. I did not use abusive or harsh language. I didn’t mention the name of any individual in my video… In my video, I only imitated Munawar Faruqui, that too, based on information provided on Google… Hence, I believe that I have not violated Rule XXV 10 (a) of the constitution of the BJP as mentioned in the disciplinary notice,” he said.
Raja also alleged that AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and the BRS had provoked communal sentiments to win the Hyderabad parliamentary constituency elections. “The ruling (BRS) has been working with the AIMIM since 2014… Both these parties have been taking up developmental activities based on religious grounds. They have been provoking people on communal lines. Though Hindus are the majority in the country, Muslims are the majority and Hindus are a minority in this constituency. The AIMIM has been troubling the minority Hindu population with the support of the BRS now and the Congress before 2014. Every welfare measure in the constituency is aimed at benefiting people of a particular religion,” he said.
The MLA said he was being targeted for “demanding a fair deal for all communities” in welfare and development work. “All these false cases were foisted against me by the (BRS) government at the behest of the AIMIM. Whenever I criticise the AIMIM, they create an impression that I am criticising Muslims. Since the word ‘Muslim’ is part of the AIMIM name, they are alleging that I am criticising the entire Muslim community. Against this backdrop I had registered my protest against the Munawar Faruqui show,” he stated.
On Sunday, revoking his suspension, the BJP said it had done so after “due consideration of his explanation” and renominated him from Goshamahal.
Incidentally, this was after the two-time MLA said he would contest as an Independent if the party did not lift his suspension and give him a ticket, though he vowed to continue supporting the BJP.
Goshamahal is one of the 15 Assembly constituencies in Hyderabad. Raja Singh has represented the constituency since Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh, winning in the 2014 and 2018 Assembly polls. It was the only seat won by the BJP in the 2018 polls and is one of the four seats held by the party in the current Assembly.
In 2009, when it was part of unified Andhra Pradesh, Goshamahal was won by the Congress.
In September 2020, Raja had been banned by Facebook “for violating its policy prohibiting those that promote or engage in violence and hate from having a presence on the platform”.
