T. Raja Singh
Member of Telangana Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
2014
Preceded byMukesh Goud
ConstituencyGoshamahal
Personal details
Born
Thakur Raja Singh

(1977-04-15) 15 April 1977
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India[1]
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
(2014-2022)
(2023-present)
Other political
affiliations
SpouseT. Usha
Residence(s)Dhoolpet, Hyderabad

Thakur Raja Singh (born 15 April 1977), popularly known as Tiger Raja Singh, is an Indian politician from the state of Telangana.[2] He is the incumbent MLA of the Telangana Legislative Assembly representing the Goshamahal Assembly constituency in Hyderabad.[3] He started his political career in Telugu Desam Party until he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014. He was part of the BJP until 23 August 2022, when he was suspended amid the 2022 Muhammad remarks controversy. On 22 October 2023, his suspension was revoked.[4] Singh had served as the BJP party whip for the state of Telangana.[5][6]

Personal life

T. Raja Singh was born to T. Naval Singh and hails from Goshamahal, Hyderabad.[7] He is married to T. Usha. He has 3 sons and 1 daughter.[2]

Career

In his early thirties, Singh was close to Mula 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.[8][9]

Singh started his political career in 2009 with the Telugu Desam Party and was elected as Mangalhat representative to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) until 2014. It was a stronghold of the Indian National Congress before his arrival.[10][8]

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.[9][11]

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.[12]

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.[9] Intelligence officials have claimed that he is one of the main men in 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.[11]

Controversies

In April 2010, he was arrested on charge of fanning communal clashes in Hyderabad.[13]

In 2012, when he was the Mangalhat representative for GHMC, the Central Crime Station of the Hyderabad Police nabbed him for theft and multiple other sections of the Indian Penal Code. They claimed he had knowingly purchased a stolen Toyota Qualis, a four-wheeler that belonged to the Government of Kerala, and that he had been using it for the past two years. He allegedly paid a sum of Rs 3 lakh for it, and had it re-registered with fake documents in Visakhapatnam, 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[13][14]

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."[15] In July 2017, he appealed to the West Bengali Hindu community to respond in a manner similar to the 2002 Gujarat riots.[16] He has also repeatedly called for the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra by armed means.[17][18][19]

In June 2018, Singh called for a Quran ban.[20] He is known for his vocal anti-Muslim views, which includes calling them traitors and backing the shooting of Rohingya people.[21][22] 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.[23] In 2023, during Shiv Jayanti, in Shrirampur, Ahmad Nagar district, he made remarks against Muslims which led to a riot.[24] On 2 September 2020, Facebook labelled Singh as a "dangerous individual" and banned him from all Facebook platforms.[25]

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.[26] He was subsequently suspended from BJP for violating party norms.[27] He was released on bail the same evening but later arrested again on 25 August 2022.[28][29] In October 2023, the BJP revoked his suspension ahead of the assembly elections in Telangana.[30]

On 27 October 2022, the Hyderabad Police claimed that 101 criminal cases had been registered against the legislator, of which 18 were related to communal offences.[31]

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.[32]

References

  1. ↑ "SRI T. RAJA SINGH LODH". Telangana Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Sri T. Raja Singh". www.legislature.telangana.gov.in. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "Cases against former BJP MLA Raja Singh double in four years". The Times of India. 20 November 2018.
  4. ↑ Bureau, The Hindu (22 October 2023). "BJP Goshamahal MLA T. Raja Singh suspension revoked". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh Lodh says ready to kill people for eating beef, threatens Dadri-like incident"..
  6. ↑ Bureau, The Hindu (23 August 2022). "BJP suspends Telangana MLA Raja Singh". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  7. ↑ "T. Raja Singh(Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)):Constituency- GOSHAMAHAL(HYDERABAD) - Affidavit Information of Candidate:". MyNeta. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  8. 1 2 "MLA With A Long Criminal Record & Penchant For Anti-Muslim Hate Speeches Is Vital To BJP's Telangana Push". article-14.com. Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 "How Raja Singh of Hyderabad's Goshamahal Emerged as the New Poster Boy of Hindutva". The Wire. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Who is Raja Singh, the suspended BJP MLA from Telangana?". cnbctv18.com. 24 August 2022. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  11. 1 2 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.
  12. ↑ "Live GOSHAMAHAL Seat Election Result 2018 in Telangana". NDTV.com. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  13. 1 2 "TDP corporator arrested for using stolen vehicle". News18. 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "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.
  15. ↑ "BJP MLA, who described old Hyderabad as 'mini Pakistan', booked". www.newindianexpress.com. 14 May 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  16. ↑ "'Hindus in Bengal should respond like they did in Gujarat". www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  17. ↑ "Cases booked against BJP Telangana MLA and Ram Sene chief for". www.business-standard.com. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "Hate speech: Another case filed against suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh in Hyderabad". www.m.timesofindia.com. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  19. ↑ "Suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh booked for hate speech at Shivjayanti event". www.indianexpress.com. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  20. ↑ "BJP MLA Raja Singh to be charged for hateful remarks of banning 'green book'". www.deccanchronicle.com. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  21. ↑ Horwitz, Newley Purnell and Jeff (14 August 2020). "Facebook's Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  22. ↑ "'Only Criticised AIMIM, Not Muslims': 5 Instances That Prove Raja Singh Wrong". www.thequint.com. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  23. ↑ "Rohingyas, Bangladeshis should be shot dead if they do not leave India, says BJP MLA". Scroll.in. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  24. ↑ "Hate speeches: Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police register 7 FIRs for property damage, stone pelting". www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  25. ↑ Singh, Manish (3 September 2020). "Facebook bans politician of India's ruling party for violating hate speech".
  26. ↑ 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. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  27. ↑ "BJP Telangana MLA T Raja Singh suspended for remarks against Prophet Mohammad". Hindustan Times. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  28. ↑ "Out on bail, suspended Telangana BJP leader T Raja Singh arrested again". The Indian Express. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  29. ↑ "BJP MLA Raja Singh to walk out of jail after 76 days". The News Minute. 9 November 2022.
  30. ↑ "BJP revokes suspension of Telangana MLA T Raja Singh over Prophet remarks". The Indian Express. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  31. ↑ "Telangana advisory board upholds BJP leader Raja Singh's detention under PD Act". www.indiatoday.in. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  32. ↑ "Goshamahal Assembly Election Results 2023 Highlights: BJP's T. Raja Singh wins Goshamahal with 80182 votes". India Today. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
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