Hyderabad: Days after suspended Bharatiya Janata Party MLA T Raja Singh was released on bail, the MLA responded for the first time after he made the controversial video where insensitive remarks on comedian Munawar’s mother and Prophet Muhammad were made. Raja Singh later termed it a ‘comedy video’.
In a statement released on Thursday, the MLA reacted by saying a conspiracy had been hatched against him by the Telangana police department.
“The state police department issued two 41(A) CrPC from different police stations – Shahinayathgunj police station and Mangalhat police station – in the month of April 12 and April 19 which was issued to me on August 28 but served to me on august 25 at 11 am. Don’t you think the department is sleeping till date?” he said in a statement.
Raja Singh also alleged that the police were planning to arrest him on Thursday.
Sequence of events
The legislator’s derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad were posted in a Youtube video on the night of August 22. It has been taken down since. Raja Singh posted it in retaliation to the Telangana government allowing comedian Munawar Faruqui to perform in Hyderabad on August 20. He had threatened to disrupt the show but was prevented from doing so by the police.
Raja Singh then took to Youtube, and posted his own video, which he called a “comedy”. Protests erupted soon on Monday around midnight and continued on Tuesday following which the BJP MLA was arrested. He was also suspended from the party by the BJP’s central disciplinary committee.
What Raja Singh said
The BJP MLA passed several derogatory comments against Muslims and Prophet Muhammad in a Youtube video. He was essentially unwilling to let go of the fact that standup comic Munawar Faruqui was allowed to hold a show in the city last week.
Protests began on Monday night, with angry youth demanding his arrest outside city police commissioner CV Anand’s office. It continued on Tuesday and intensified after he was released on bail. BJP chief spokesperson for Telangana Krishna Sagar Rao told Siasat.com that his party respects all religions and faiths. “We are a national party and we don’t support the statements of Raja Singh or hate speech,” he stated.
At the end of the video, after making derogatory comments, Raja Singh said that whatever he uttered was “comedy”. The MLA said he also didn’t like what he said. The video was uploaded on Shree Ram Channel Telangana (now made private).
