The firebrand Hindutva leader was suspended from the BJP after an outcry over his blasphemous statement against Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He faces about a hundred cases for inciting hatred towards minorities, specifically Muslims.
Team Clarion
HYDERABAD — Firebrand Hindutva leader, notorious for his anti-Muslim hate speeches, T. Raja Singh, has said he does not want Muslim votes in the ensuing Telangana Assembly elections.
Claiming that Hindus across the country are being discriminated against, Singh said he will not tolerate this anymore.
Singh, the known face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, is the saffron party’s candidate from the Goshamahal assembly seat in Hyderabad.
Earlier, Singh was suspended from the party after an outcry over his blasphemous statement against Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He faces about a hundred cases for inciting hatred towards minorities, specifically Muslims.
The party withdrew his suspension just before the release of the first list of candidates for the November 30 elections. Also, he was named a candidate from Goshamahal from where he had won in 2018.
Singh, who is constantly in the headlines due to his vitriolic statements, has once again talked about killing. According to a report in Dainik Bhaskar, while clarifying his stand on the election, he said, “This is the election of my life and death. I am not afraid of dying nor am I afraid of killing anyone. So, think carefully before betraying me. My enmity will prove costly.”
Singh said he had said the same in the 2013 elections. “I have said the same in 2018 and now I am saying the same in 2023. I do not want the votes of Muslims. And I will break the hands of those who slaughter cows, this is my style,” he said.
Clarifying his position on why he does not want the votes of Muslims, Singh said, “There are two lakh Hindu voters in Goshamahal area while there are 70,000 Muslims who are against Hindutva and they are my enemies. That is why I have a lot of support from my Hindu brothers. I don’t want their vote.”
Singh termed those who slaughter cows as his enemies. “These (Muslims) are enemies. They slaughter our cows, do ‘love jihad’ and are engaged in forced conversions,” he said.
Launching a scathing attack on Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Singh alleged that bombs are made in every house in his area. “Before the BJP rule (at the Centre), whenever there was a bomb blast anywhere in the country, people from Hyderabad were caught,” he said.
“I want to give a clear message to Muslims. If you want terrorism then vote for Owaisi. If you want destruction then vote for Owaisi. And if you want development, then stay with (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi Ji,” Singh said.
Singh chiefly faces Mogili Sunitha of the Congress and Nand Kishore Vyas of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) at the hustings. Oddly, AIMIM has not fielded any candidate from here, but the party is supporting Vyas of the BRS.
