Controversial MLA T Raja Singh, who has now been suspended by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was arrested by the Hyderabad police on Tuesday, August 23. The arrest came after massive protests erupted in parts of the city demanding his arrest, for his remarks against Islam and Prophet Mohammed. However, with the Goshamahal legislator securing bail from a local court on Tuesday night, protests resumed in parts of the city, continuing on Wednesday at Shalibanda. Here are 10 updates from Hyderabad, where the situation remained mildly tense as of Wednesday.
Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao on Wednesday alleged that with the controversy, the Narendra Modi-led BJP government was conspiring to divert people’s attention from unemployment, inflation and other issues. He said that while the BJP’s slogan says “For the nation, for dharma”, it actually stood for “hate and unrighteousness”. He said the party was conspiring to “fill peoples’ hearts with poison”. “This is a petty attempt to ignite a fire in prosperous Telangana. Communal feelings are being provoked through poisonous propaganda” KTR tweeted. “It’s not hate, it’s the nation that matters. Not heightened emotions, it’s jobs that matter,” he added, saying there was a conspiracy to damage social fabric.
పచ్చగా ఉన్న తెలంగాణాలో చిచ్చు పెట్టె చిల్లర ప్రయత్నం
— KTR (@KTRTRS) August 24, 2022
విషప్రచారాలతో మత విద్వేషాలు రెచ్చగొడుతున్నరు
SOCIAL MEDIA ద్వారా దేశంలోని..
SOCIAL FABRIC ను దెబ్బతీసే కుతంత్రం
మిత్రులారా గుర్తుంచుకోండి
ద్వేషం కాదు దేశం ముఖ్యం
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AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) General Secretary Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri wrote to Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, demanding expulsion proceedings against Raja Singh for his remarks against Prophet Mohammed. The letter alleged that Raja Singh’s conduct had breached the House’s privileges, and noted that it was a pattern, citing past incidents where the MLA had been booked for provocative comments and hate speech. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has also demanded Raja Singh’s voice samples be sent to a forensic science laboratory (FSL), in order to make the investigation indisputable.
On behalf of @aimim_national, our General Secretary Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri has written to Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker @PSRTRS demanding expulsion proceedings against BJP MLA Raja Singh for blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed PBUH pic.twitter.com/S37qhuTxc9
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) August 24, 2022
On Tuesday, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Owaisi alleged that the BJP was trying to incite communal riots ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi, in an attempt to polarise voters ahead of the Munugode byepoll. He also condemned the calls by some of the protesters for the beheading of Raja Singh, saying they should not take law into their hands. Owaisi claimed that Raja Singh couldn’t have made the contentious remarks without approval from BJP leadership, and alleged that it was a deliberate attempt by the BJP to incite Muslims.
On the other hand, Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Wednesday alleged that it was the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) that was conspiring to trigger communal riots in Hyderabad, to divert people’s attention from allegations of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s family’s involvement in the Delhi excise policy scam.
Meanwhile, state Congress chief Revanth Reddy on Wednesday blamed both BJP and TRS, alleging that the BJP was trying to gain temporary political advantage in Munugode by inciting hate through Raja Singh’s comments and that the TRS was creating confusion to divert people from the Delhi excise scam allegations.
మత విద్వేషాలు రెచ్చగొట్టి,తాత్కాలిక రాజకీయ ప్రయోజనం పొందడానికి బీజేపీ ఎంతకైనా బరితెగిస్తుందని రాజాసింగ్ మాటలు ధ్రువీకరిస్తున్నాయి.
— Revanth Reddy (@revanth_anumula) August 24, 2022
ఢిల్లీ లిక్కర్ కుంభకోణం లోని వాస్తవాలను మరుగున పరచడానికి తెరాస కృత్రిమంగా సృష్టిస్తున్న గందరగోళాన్ని కూడా ప్రజలు గమనిస్తున్నారు. 1/2
Telangana Congress leaders have demanded that the Preventive Detention Act (which deals with preventing persons from carrying out anti-national acts) be invoked against Raja Singh for his remarks. Former Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir reportedly said police must treat Raja Singh as a 'habitual offender' as he had made similarly controversial statements on several occasions in the past. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Minorities Department Chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail pointed out that Raja Singh made anti-Muslim remarks on occasions like Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanthi.
Prominent Muslim bodies on Tuesday called for strict action against Raja Singh. Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Maulana Mahmood Madani slammed Raja's remarks as "very shameful" and "shocking". In a statement, Madani said the arrest of Singh and the disciplinary action taken by the BJP against him were the need of the hour. However, he said it is not sufficient and such offenders should be given "exemplary punishment". All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) general secretary Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said that the personality of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) of Islam is dear to all Muslims. He appealed to Muslims to show patience and asked the government to use the power of law to bring to justice such "criminals".
Protests over Raja Singh’s remarks continued on Wednesday morning, mainly in the Shalibanda area of old city. Visuals showed police personnel detaining many of the protesters. AIMIM corporator from Pathargatti Syed Sohail Quadri also joined the protest at Shalibanda crossroads, raising slogans demanding that Raja Singh be sentenced to hang by the courts for his remarks.
Additional police forces have been deployed in parts of Hyderabad following overnight protests against Raja Singh's remarks that continued on Wednesday. “Additional forces have been deployed wherever it is necessary. Some protests were held last night. But the situation is peaceful now,” G Biksham Reddy, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Charminar told PTI on Wednesday.
Following Raja Singh’s release, protests erupted with people taking to the streets late Tuesday night in various parts of the city including the Charminar area, prompting the police to beef up security. Tension prevailed at Nampally court following the MLA’s release, as well as in parts of the old city on Tuesday night as hundreds of people took to the streets after he was granted bail. In a few places, the protests turned violent, and the police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse protesters who burnt tyres on the roads. Carrying black flags and raising slogans, protesters gathered at Charminar, Madina circle, Barkas, Chandrayangutta, Chanchalguda, City College, Afzalgunj and other areas. Additional forces including Rapid Action Force, Greyhounds and special reserve police were reportedly deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
The protesters demanded stringent action against the controversial MLA, and some of them were seen carrying the national flag. MLAs belonging to AIMIM reached several parts of the old city where a large number of Muslim youth were protesting holding black flags and tried to reason with them, the party sources told PTI.
Raja Singh’s advocate on Wednesday alleged that he received around three calls threatening to kill him for taking up Raja Singh’s case. In a tweet, he said that such threats from “d*** heads” cannot deter him from practising his profession.
While Raja Singh remains suspended from the party, the BJP on Wednesday staged protests across Telangana against the arrest of its state president Bandi Sanjay and other leaders. Top state leaders of the party sat on protests in district and mandal headquarters. Bandi Sanjay, along with his supporters, sat in protest at his residence in Karimnagar town. He vowed to continue his Praja Sangrama Yatra despite police direction to stop it immediately.
Bandi Sanjay was arrested in Jangaon district on Tuesday when he was preparing to sit on the protest against the arrest of BJP workers for staging a protest outside TRS MLA and CM KCR’s daughter Kavitha's residence in Hyderabad the previous day. He was later shifted to Karimnagar and kept under house arrest. The police later issued a notice to the BJP leaders asking them to immediately stop Praja Sangrama Yatra saying there is no permission for the same.
Pakistan on Wednesday condemned Raja Singh’s remarks against the Prophet and urged the Indian government to take decisive action to stop such repeated offensive comments by BJP leaders that have hurt Muslims. “This is the second time in the last three months that a senior BJP leader has made disrespectful comments against the Prophet,” the Foreign Office in Islamabad said in a statement. "These highly derogatory remarks have gravely hurt the feelings of the people of Pakistan and billions of Muslims around the world," it said.
It also said that the "token and perfunctory disciplinary action" taken by the BJP against Singh cannot assuage the pain and anguish caused to the Muslims of India and around the world. It is highly reprehensible that Singh was released on bail within hours of arrest, the statement said. Pakistan demanded that the Indian government take immediate and decisive action.
Raja Singh was arrested on Tuesday after he posted a video on YouTube in which he is heard making objectionable statements against Prophet Mohammed. The MLA uploaded the video after comedian Munawar Faruqui’s stand-up show in Hyderabad, which Raja Singh had threatened to “burn down”. The video has been disabled by YouTube.