Suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh booked for hate speech against Muslims
Singh had also claimed that India will be declared a Hindu nation by 2026.
Suspended Bharatiya Janata Party MLA T Raja Singh has been booked for allegedly making inflammatory remarks against Muslims during an event in Maharashtra, PTI reported on Tuesday.
According to the police, a first information report was filed against him in Shrirampur city in Ahmednagar district on the basis of a complaint filed by some locals.
At the event, held on March 10, Singh had made derogatory references towards Muslims and also claimed that India will be declared a Hindu nation by 2026. A video of his speech was widely shared on social media.
“Whoever speaks against Hindus, we will not spare them,” Singh can be heard saying in the video. “In our Hindu Rashtra you won’t even get a loudspeaker to do what you do five times a day [a reference to Muslim prayers].”
He claimed that Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray in a media interview had referred to Muslims as “insects” and “cockroaches” and had spoken of “eliminating them with a spray”, according to PTI.
The MLA from Goshamahal in Hyderabad, who has a history of making incendiary communal speeches, also urged the public to join the Bajrang Dal if they want to beat up Muslims.
“Let those who talk against Hindus or slaughter cows know that we are ready,” he said.
Singh was suspended by the BJP last year after he had allegedly made derogatory remarks against derogatory comments about Prophet Muhammad in Hyderabad.
At the time, the Hyderabad Police had said that the MLA was involved in 101 criminal cases, 18 of which were related to alleged communal offences.
On Tuesday, Shrirampur Police Station Incharge Harshwardhan Gawali said that Singh has been booked under Sections 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.