The Hyderabad MLA rakes up ‘Love Jihad’ bogey and calls for boycott of Muslim businesses.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – BJP lawmaker from Hyderabad and a prominent Hindutva exponent, T. Raja Singh, has spewed venom against Muslims by repeatedly raking up the ‘Love Jihad’ bogey and calling for a boycott of Muslim businesses.
Addressing an event organised by Sakal Hindu Samaj in Maharashtra’s Solapur district at the weekend, the firebrand Hindutva chauvinist Singh encouraged violence against minority communities. He urged saffron-clad Hindutva supporters to adopt violence to establish a Hindu rashtra (nation) and combat the ‘Love Jihad.’
Hindutva Watch, a research initiative which monitors reports of attacks on members of religious minorities in the country, shared Singh’s video on its X (formerly Twitter) handle
on Sunday.
The video shows Singh appealing to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to take strict action against ‘Love Jihad’ and cow slaughterers. “If the state government fails, we will teach them a lesson. We will make sure to pluck these Jihadis’ eyes and play with them,” Singh said.
“Is rape not happening to our sisters and daughters today in the name of Love Jihad? They are trapped and then made a machine for producing children,” he said.
The term ‘Love Jihad’ is used by far-right Hindutva supporters to allege that Hindu women are being deceived by Muslim men using fake identities to convert them to Islam.
Singh also called on people to boycott Muslims and discouraged purchasing items from Muslim traders, saying, “If you are purchasing a soap or biscuit or atta (wheat flour), beware of its content. Do not buy if it is halal.”
Singh has a history of making such inflammatory speeches across Telangana, Maharashtra, and other states. During the Telangana Assembly election campaign, he even warned of ‘violent consequences’ if he lost from Goshamahal constituency.
While submitting his nomination papers, Singh admitted to having 75 criminal cases against him, mostly related to hate speech in different parts of Telangana and other states. In 2018 alone, he faced 43 cases, including 38 related to hate speech.