Thakur Raja Singh (born 15 April 1977), popularly known as Tiger Raja Singh, is an Indian politician from the state of Telangana.[2][3] He is the incumbent MLA of the Telangana Legislative Assembly representing the Goshamahal Assembly constituency in Hyderabad.[4]
T. Raja Singh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Telangana Legislative Assembly | |
| Assumed office 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Mukesh Goud |
| Constituency | Goshamahal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thakur Raja Singh Lodh 15 April 1977 Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (present-day Telangana), India[1] |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (2014–2022; since 2023) |
| Other political affiliations | Telugu Desam Party (2009–2013) |
| Spouse | T. Usha |
| Residence(s) | Dhoolpet, Hyderabad |
Singh had served as the party whip for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state of Telangana.[5] He was suspended from the party on 23 August 2022 for his remarks on Muhammad, during the 2022 Muhammad remarks controversy, but his suspension was revoked on 22 October 2023, so that he could participate in the assembly elections.[6][7] He is one of the most controversial politicians in India, with more than 105 criminal cases registered against him, of which 18 were related to communal offences.[8][9][10][11]
Personal life
editT. Raja Singh was born to T. Naval Singh and hails from Goshamahal, Hyderabad.[12] He is married to T. Usha. He has three sons and one daughter.[2]
For the 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly election, he self-declared 83 criminal cases and assets of ₹4.7 crore.[12]
Political Career
editIn his early thirties, Singh was close to Mukesh Goud, the Goshamahal MLA from the Congress party, and Mettu Vaikuntam, the BJP corporator from Goshamahal. These connections helped him gain a following in Goshamahal. With Goud’s help, Singh was also involved in the Congress Party’s youth wing for some time.[10][13]
Singh started his political career in 2009 with the Telugu Desam Party and was elected as the representative from Mangalhat to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) until 2014. It was a stronghold of the Indian National Congress before his arrival.[14][10]
He joined the BJP ahead of the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, on the insistence of Mettu Vaikuntam, and won the election for the Goshamahal Assembly constituency with a margin of 46,793 against Mukesh Goud.[13][15]
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.[16]
Since his joining the BJP in 2014, he has left the party thrice on the grounds that the BJP has not been doing enough for the Hindus and more so for cow protection.[13] Intelligence officials have claimed that he is one of the main men in the "Sriram Yuva Sena", a pro-hindutva organisation from the days of United Andhra Pradesh, consisting mainly of gau-rakshaks. The group emerged for a while after his suspension from the BJP for his controversial remarks against Prophet Muhammad.[15]
In October 2023, following the revocation of his suspension, he was fielded as the BJP candidate in the 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly elections, and won the seat for the third time in a row.[17]
Controversies
editIn April 2010, he was arrested on charge of fanning communal clashes in Hyderabad.[18]
In 2012, when he was the Mangalhat representative for GHMC, Hyderabad Police nabbed him for theft and other crimes. They claimed he had knowingly purchased and had been using a stolen Toyota Qualis that belonged to the Government of Kerala for the past two years. It had been registered using fake documents, against a registration number that belonged to a TVS Champ two-wheeler. His close associates alleged that the arrest was influenced by other political parties[18][19]
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."[20] In July 2017, he appealed to the Hindu community in West Bengal to respond in a manner similar to the 2002 Gujarat riots.[21] He has also repeatedly called for the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra by armed means.[22][23][24]
In June 2018, Singh called for a Quran ban.[25] He is known for his vocal anti-Muslim views, which includes calling them traitors and backing the shooting of Rohingya people.[26][27] In a video message, he said that 'illegal' Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis should be shot dead if they didn't leave the country respectfully, and labelled them as pests.[28] In 2023, during Shiv Jayanti, in Shrirampur, Ahmad Nagar district, he made remarks against Muslims which led to a riot.[29] On 2 September 2020, Facebook labelled Singh as a "dangerous individual" and banned him from all Facebook platforms.[30]
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.[31] He was subsequently suspended from BJP for violating party norms.[32] He was released on bail the same evening but later arrested again on 25 August 2022.[33][34] In October 2023, the BJP revoked his suspension ahead of the assembly elections in Telangana.[6][35]
He was booked multiple times for violating the Model Code of Conduct during the 2024 Indian general elections, by allegedly singing Islamophobic songs during an unauthorised rally in Afzal Gunj on 18 April 2024, and for conducting a rally beyond the permitted time in Khanapur on 8 May 2024.[36][37][38]
In June 2024, he threatened comedian Daniel Fernandes for making jokes against Jains. Daniel had to cancel his show in Hyderabad after these threats.[39][40]
References
edit- ^ "SRI T. RAJA SINGH LODH". Telangana Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Sri T. Raja Singh". Legislative Assembly - Telangana Legislature. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ Nichenametla, Prasad (3 December 2023). "BJP firebrand 'Tiger' Singh leads in Hyderabad seat he has won since 2014". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ Buddi, Mahesh (20 November 2018). "Cases against former BJP MLA Raja Singh double in four years". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh Lodh says ready to kill people for eating beef, threatens Dadri-like incident". Daily News and Analysis. 2 December 2015. Archived from the original on 4 December 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ a b "BJP Goshamahal MLA T. Raja Singh suspension revoked". The Hindu. 22 October 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "BJP suspends Telangana MLA Raja Singh". The Hindu. 23 August 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ Basheer, Abdul (27 October 2023). "Telangana advisory board upholds BJP leader Raja Singh's detention under PD Act". India Today. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ Anand, Utkarsh (18 January 2024). "Want hate speech to stop but can't put pre-emptive curbs: Supreme Court". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ a b c Kuntamalla, Vidheesha (8 August 2024). "MLA With A Long Criminal Record & Penchant For Anti-Muslim Hate Speeches Is Vital To BJP's Telangana Push". Article-14. Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Litany of cases against T Raja Singh: BJP's rabble-rouser MLA known for anti-minority rhetoric". The Indian Express. 26 February 2024. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ a b "T. Raja Singh (Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)) : Constituency- GOSHAMAHAL (HYDERABAD) - Affidavit Information of Candidate". MyNeta. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Mukka, Vikram (25 September 2022). "How Raja Singh of Hyderabad's Goshamahal Emerged as the New Poster Boy of Hindutva". The Wire (India). Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Who is Raja Singh, the suspended BJP MLA from Telangana?". CNBC TV18. 24 August 2022. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ a b Alamgir, Mir (4 September 2022). "Sriram Yuva Sena: Raja Singh's Hindutva group in Hyderabad comes alive". The Siasat Daily. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ "Live GOSHAMAHAL Seat Election Result 2018 in Telangana". NDTV. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ "Goshamahal Assembly Election Results 2023 Highlights: BJP's T. Raja Singh wins Goshamahal with 80182 votes". India Today. 3 December 2023. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ a b "TDP corporator arrested for using stolen vehicle". News18. 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Mangalhat corporator held, aides cry foul". The Times of India. 13 March 2012. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "BJP MLA, who described old Hyderabad as 'mini Pakistan', booked". New Indian Express. 14 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ "'Hindus in Bengal should respond like they did in Gujarat'". The Times of India. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 24 December 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ "Cases booked against BJP Telangana MLA and Ram Sene chief for". Business Standard. 15 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ "Hate speech: Another case filed against suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh in Hyderabad". The Times of India. 3 April 2023. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
- ^ "Suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh booked for hate speech at Shivjayanti event". Indian Express. 14 March 2023. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ "BJP MLA Raja Singh to be charged for hateful remarks of banning 'green book'". Deccan Chronicle. 18 June 2018. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ Purnell, Newley; Horwitz, Jeff (14 August 2022). "Facebook's Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ "'Only Criticised AIMIM, Not Muslims': 5 Instances That Prove Raja Singh Wrong". The Quint. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ "Rohingyas, Bangladeshis should be shot dead if they do not leave India, says BJP MLA". Scroll.in. 31 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Hate speeches: Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police register 7 FIRs for property damage, stone pelting". The Times of India. 20 March 2023. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ Singh, Manish (3 September 2020). "Facebook bans politician of India's ruling party for violating hate speech". Techcrunch. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ 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. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "BJP Telangana MLA T Raja Singh suspended for remarks against Prophet Mohammad". Hindustan Times. 23 August 2022. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ^ "Out on bail, suspended Telangana BJP leader T Raja Singh arrested again". The Indian Express. 25 August 2022. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ^ "BJP MLA Raja Singh to walk out of jail after 76 days". The News Minute. 9 December 2022. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ "BJP revokes suspension of Telangana MLA T Raja Singh over Prophet remarks". The Indian Express. 22 October 2023. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ Lasania, Yunus (18 April 2024). "Hyderabad: BJP MLA Raja Singh booked for unauthorised Ram Navami rally". The Siasat Daily. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "BJP MLA Raja Singh faces charges for unpermitted rally on Sri Ram Navami". Telangana Today. 18 April 2024. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "BJP's Raja Singh, G Nagesh booked for model code violation in Nirmal". Telangana Today. 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "Comic Daniel Fernandez cancels Hyderabad show after Raja Singh's threat". The Siasat Daily. 29 June 2024. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ "Stand-up comedian's show in Hyderabad cancelled following threats by BJP MLA". The Hindu. 29 June 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.