The Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Goshamahal in Hyderabad, T Raja Singh has said that people who do not attend daily meetings of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh shakhas are not true Hindus.

“I request all of you to enroll yourself in nearest branch of RSS,” Singh said at an event organised by the Hindu Utsav Samiti in Neemuch district on Sunday. “Any Hindu who does not join RSS is not a true Hindu and is thus incapable of serving our nation.”

The BJP legislator said that every citizen must say “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram” no matter what their religion is. Else, they are “free to leave this country”, he added.

The MLA asked Hindus to work for the betterment of their religion by fighting “evils” such as “love jihad” and alleged attempts by Christian missionaries to pay people to convert to their religion. “Love jihad” is a term that Hindutva organisations frequently use to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to marry women from other religions with the aim of converting them to Islam.

He also accused All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leaders Asaduddin and Akbaruddin Owaisi of profiting by exploiting Hindus and Muslims. They own properties in the United States that are worth crores of rupees, Singh alleged. “Muslims are becoming anti-nationals because of the Owaisis,” the MLA said. “They should understand that these brothers are playing dirty politics and will continue to do so. People must not fall into their trap.”

BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj, who was also present at the event, said different political organisations might differ in their ideologies, but all of them were made up of Hindus, the Hindustan Times reported. “You might be angry with your MLA or MP, but do not punish Bharat Mata and Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi for it.”

The Congress criticised the BJP leaders’ statements. “They do not have the right to say who is a Hindu and who is not,” Youth Congress and farmer leader Ramesh Rajora said. “A person who is born in a Hindu family is a Hindu and they do not need a certificate from the RSS to prove it.”