T. Raja Singh

T. Raja Singh (born 15 April 1977) is an Indian politician from the state of Telangana.[2] He is the incumbent MLA of the Telangana Legislative Assembly representing the Goshamahal Assembly constituency in Hyderabad.[3] He started his political career in Telugu Desam Party until he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014. He was part of the BJP until 23 August 2022, when he was suspended amid the 2022 Muhammad remarks controversy. On 22 October 2023, his suspension was revoked.[4] Singh had served as the BJP party whip for the state of Telangana.[5][6]

T. Raja Singh
Member of Telangana Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
2014
Preceded byMukesh Goud
ConstituencyGoshamahal
Personal details
Born
Thakur Raja Singh Lodh

(1977-04-15) 15 April 1977
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India[1]
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
(2014-2022)
(2023-present)
Other political
affiliations
Residence(s)Dhoolpet, Hyderabad

Early life

T. Raja Singh belongs to Lodha community, which has a large presence in Goshamahal Assembly constituency in old city.[7][8][9] Lodha Community is an OBC Community belonging to people emigrated from Uttar Pradesh, and are generally not counted as mainstream Kshatriya Rajputs.

Career

Singh started his political career in 2009 with the Telugu Desam Party and was elected as Mangalhat representative to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation until 2014.[10] He joined the BJP ahead of the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election and won the election for the Goshamahal Assembly constituency with a margin of 46,793 against Mukesh Goud.[11][12][13]

In 2018, he was re-elected to the Telangana Legislative Assembly from the same constituency with a margin of 17,734 against the Bharat Rashtra Samithi candidate Prem Singh Rathore.[14]

Controversies

In 2017, Singh was embroiled in various alleged hate speech controversies, including his remarks in May 2017 where he called the Old City area in Hyderabad "mini Pakistan."[15] In July 2017, he appealed to the West Bengali Hindu community to respond in a manner similar to the 2002 Gujarat riots.[16] He has also repeatedly called for the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra by armed means.[17][18][19]

In June 2018, Singh called for a Quran ban.[20] He is known for his vocal anti-Muslim views, which includes calling them traitors and backing the shooting of Rohingya people.[21][22] In 2023, during Shiv Jayanti, in Shrirampur, Ahilya Nagar district, he made remarks against Muslims which led to a riot.[23] On 2 September 2020, Facebook labelled Singh as a "dangerous individual" and banned him from all Facebook platforms.[24]

Amid the 2022 Muhammad remarks controversy, Singh was arrested by the Hyderabad Police on 23 August 2022, hours after his comments about Muhammad sparked protests in the city.[25] He was subsequently suspended from BJP for violating party norms.[26] He was released on bail the same evening but later arrested again on 25 August 2022.[27][28]

On 27 Oct 2022, the Hyderabad Police claimed that 101 criminal cases had been registered against the legislator, of which 18 were related to communal offences.[29]

In October 2023, following the revocation of his suspension, he is fielded as the BJP canditate in the upcoming 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly elections. He is set to contest from his home constituency, Goshamahal, which he has represented for two terms now.[30][31]

References
  1. "SRI T. RAJA SINGH LODH". Telangana Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  2. "Sri T. Raja Singh". www.legislature.telangana.gov.in. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  3. "Cases against former BJP MLA Raja Singh double in four years". The Times of India. 20 November 2018.
  4. Bureau, The Hindu (22 October 2023). "BJP Goshamahal MLA T. Raja Singh suspension revoked". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  5. "Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh Lodh says ready to kill people for eating beef, threatens Dadri-like incident"..
  6. Bureau, The Hindu (23 August 2022). "BJP suspends Telangana MLA Raja Singh". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  7. "BJP lifts suspension of T Raja Singh ahead of Telangana polls".
  8. "How Raja Singh of Hyderabad's Goshamahal Emerged as the New Poster Boy of Hindutva".
  9. "The other face of Dhoolpet".
  10. "Who is Raja Singh, the suspended BJP MLA from Telangana?". cnbctv18.com. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  11. "Who is Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh, arrested for remarks against Prophet?". India Today.
  12. Alamgir, Mir (4 September 2022). "Sriram Yuva Sena: Raja Singh's Hindutva group in Hyderabad comes alive". The Siasat Daily.
  13. "Goshamahal Assembly constituency (Telangana): Full details, live and past results". News18. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  14. "Live GOSHAMAHAL Seat Election Result 2018 in Telangana". NDTV.com. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  15. "BJP MLA, who described old Hyderabad as 'mini Pakistan', booked". www.newindianexpress.com. 14 May 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  16. "'Hindus in Bengal should respond like they did in Gujarat". www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  17. "Cases booked against BJP Telangana MLA and Ram Sene chief for". www.business-standard.com. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  18. "Hate speech: Another case filed against suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh in Hyderabad". www.m.timesofindia.com. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  19. "Suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh booked for hate speech at Shivjayanti event". www.indianexpress.com. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  20. "BJP MLA Raja Singh to be charged for hateful remarks of banning 'green book'". www.deccanchronicle.com. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  21. Horwitz, Newley Purnell and Jeff (14 August 2020). "Facebook's Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  22. "'Only Criticised AIMIM, Not Muslims': 5 Instances That Prove Raja Singh Wrong". www.thequint.com. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  23. "Hate speeches: Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police register 7 FIRs for property damage, stone pelting". www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  24. Singh, Manish (3 September 2020). "Facebook bans politician of India's ruling party for violating hate speech".
  25. Tomar, Ajay (23 August 2022). "BJP MLA Raja Singh was held for comments against the Muslims, while he replied that all his comments were a retort to controversial "comedian" Munnawar Faruqui's show, where he abused and insulted Hindu gods". The South First. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  26. "BJP Telangana MLA T Raja Singh suspended for remarks against Prophet Mohammad". Hindustan Times. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  27. "Out on bail, suspended Telangana BJP leader T Raja Singh arrested again". The Indian Express. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  28. "BJP MLA Raja Singh to walk out of jail after 76 days". The News Minute. 9 November 2022.
  29. "Telangana advisory board upholds BJP leader Raja Singh's detention under PD Act". www.indiatoday.in. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  30. "Hate speech case: BJP revokes suspension of Telangana's Goshamahal MLA T. Raja Singh". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  31. Desk, India TV News; News, India TV (22 October 2023). "Telangana Assembly polls: BJP releases first list of candidates, fields 3 Lok Sabha MPs, T Raja". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
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