Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA T. Raja Singh was Tuesday arrested by the Hyderabad police for allegedly making objectionable comments about the Muslim community and the Prophet while taking a dig at Munawar Faruqui, a Muslim stand-up comedian.
Later in the day, the BJP suspended Singh, stating his remarks were against the party line.
In a video uploaded late Monday by Singh’s team on YouTube, the politician is heard mocking Faruqui, saying that he does “third-class comedy” and that he targets Hindu gods Rama and Sita in his sets. The video, which was open for public viewing initially, has now been made unavailable by YouTube. ThePrint has a version of the video.
“He [Faruqui] roams the country and does third-class comedy, targets Hindu gods Ram and Sita…. So, I saw his videos and thought this man is targeting Hindu gods, let me check who he worships. So, I started researching who his ‘Aaka’ (god) is and who is the ‘gol topi walon (those who wear round caps) ka Aaka’. I found a video about him saying that a certain 53-year-old man married a 6-year-old girl. This is so wrong, isn’t it,” Singh is heard saying in the video, hinting at the Prophet.
“This Faruqui’s Aaka got married 14 times and has dozens of children…. The ‘gol topi’ people in our country, who kill gau maata (the sacred cow), threaten to slit the throats of those wearing tilaks on their forehead. If they follow someone who does 14 marriages, they will also do the same. Country’s population is growing for a reason and this is one of them. They read a ‘hari kitaab’ (the green book) which advises them to do so,” Singh added.
“The reason I am doing this video is because he [Faruqui] did comedy on my Hindu gods. So, I am making this video where I do comedy on their ‘Aaka’, ‘gol topi walon ka Aaka’,” said Singh, who represents the Goshamahal constituency.
The Dabeerpura Police has registered a criminal case against Singh following protests by activists and corporator of the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), held at Hyderabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand’s office, demanding Singh’s immediate arrest for hurting their religious sentiments.
Singh had also been taken into preventive custody by the police Friday after he allegedly threatened to “burn down the venue” where Faruqui was scheduled to perform the next day, and threatened to “beat up” the comedian.
Despite strong protests and such threats by the BJP, the show was successfully held amid heavy police security and support from the state government.
“I will go to any extent to protect my community; I am even ready to die. I will upload part two of the video,” Singh said Tuesday while being arrested.
Speaking to media persons following Singh’s arrest, Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had drawn parallels between Singh’s comments and those made by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma in May.
“Why is the BJP doing all this? It has become evident now that the BJP hates Muslims and Prophet Muhammad. One can see the BJP’s official policy, because without the consent or knowledge of the party’s top leaders, no one can make such derogatory comments,” he said.
“I strongly condemn it…. It has become BJP’s official policy to disturb the country’s diversity and Muslims. They do not care about the country’s social fabric,” he added.
Owaisi further said that one of his MLAs, Ahmed Balala, has lodged a complaint with the police and demanded that they “take voice recordings of Singh” and get a “forensic science laboratory (FSL) report” to match it with the voice in the video.
“We are all celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, our prime minister is delivering speeches from the Red Fort and his MLA makes such derogatory comments. Does the PM agree with this? If not, he must react,” said Owaisi.
Soon after, the BJP suspended Singh. The suspension letter, which ThePrint has accessed, read: “You have expressed views contrary to the party’s position in various matters, which is in clear violation of Rule XXV. 10 (a) of the constitution of the Bharatiya Janata Party.”
The party also directed Singh to show cause by 2 September on why he should not be expelled.
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Telangana’s open invitation to Faruqui
Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao had last year in December extended an open invitation to comedians Faruqui and Kunal Kamra to perform in Hyderabad after their shows were cancelled in Bengaluru with police citing law and order disturbance as reason. KTR had assured them that their shows would not be cancelled.
Singh has alleged that the police in the city and the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government in the state were disregarding Hindu sentiments by supporting Faruqui.
The police has registered a case against Singh under the following section of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) — 295(a), deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs; 153(a), promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony; 505 (2), statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes; and 506, punishment for criminal intimidation.
In a separate incident, BJP MP and Telangana party president Bandi Sanjay Kumar was also arrested Tuesday after calling for a state-wide protest against alleged police brutality towards BJP workers demonstrating against TRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha.
The BJP has alleged that Kavitha, also the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, has a role in the Delhi Excise scam and that she acted as a “middleman” between the liquor mafia and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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