Telangana BJP MLA says will raise ‘army’ to drive out 'enemies'

At a time when passions are being whipped up across the country over the issue of illegal immigrants, a BJP MLA from Telangana, T Raja Singh, known for his rabble-rousing and hateful speeches, has talked about raising a “private army of nationalists” to deal with “internal enemies”.

In two separate video messages, one in Telugu and another in Hindi, posted on his Facebook page, Singh, who represents Ghoshamahal constituency in Hyderabad, said that he would raise an “army” to  “drive away enemies” out of the country and “if required, send them to hell.”

The two-time MLA, who made similar provocative statements in the past targeting minorities but went scot-free every single time, said that he was running a 10-day camp in Bengaluru in which training was being given to “the army” that would strive for the establishment of “Hindu rashtra (nation) and to protect Hindu dharma (religion)” and the nation.

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“We are determined to create a Hindu rashtra (nation) for which we need an army. Six months ago, we drew up a plan to organize a camp to form an army and invited brave and young Hinduvadi (Hindu) patriots. A big discussion has been going on in this camp about this army,” he said.

However, the BJP lawmaker did not specify when and where the so-called training camp was held. The army of nationalists would be set up in all corners of the country, he claimed.

He revealed that the participants in the camp had taken a “pledge” that they would become “soldiers on the lines of the Indian Army” which was fighting the enemy on the borders.

“While the Indian Army is meant for protecting the nation from external enemies, there is a need for an army to fight the internal enemies, who are out to destabilise the country. We are raising such an army,” the 41-year-old MLA said.

“In the coming days, the traitors will be taken out from their hiding in India and driven out of the country or to hell directly. This is our resolve,” he said.

History of provocation

As per the 2018 election affidavit, Singh has 43 police cases pending against him, most of them for making provocative and offensive statements.

He hails from the communally-sensitive old city area which has witnessed riots in the past. The All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), headed by four-time MP from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi, is a formidable political force in the old city and has seven MLAs from the region.

Recently, Singh tried to erect a statue of freedom fighter Rani Avanti Bai at Jumerat Bazar without police permission, triggering tension in the area.

Singh was first elected to the Assembly in 2014, defeating Congress candidate Mukesh Goud. As per his affidavit filed before the Election Commission in 2014, as many as 19 cases were pending against him for “promoting enmity between different groups, voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from discharging his duty, trespass, attempt to murder, defiling a place of worship, theft, forgery and rioting.”

By 2018, the number of cases had jumped to 43. In 2018 alone, 15 cases were booked against him for carrying out rallies without permission and delivering hate speeches.

On his part, the MLA argues that the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was hand-in-glove with the AIMIM because of its appeasement politics.

He accused the TRS government of deliberately booking cases against him to please its political ally AIMIM. “Though MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi made several hate speeches, no cases were booked against him,” Singh pointed out.

Cow politics

The controversial leader had set off a furore in 2015 when he declared that he was ready to ‘kill or get killed’ to protect the ‘Gau Mata’ (Mother Cow). The outburst had been in response to a planned beef festival at Osmania University in Hyderabad.

“People are entitled to eat whatever they wish. However, they should not hurt anyone’s religious sentiments. If religious sentiments are being hurt, we have the right to stop this festival,” he had said.

“As a Hindu and a cow worshiper, I will do my duty. I have become an MLA only due to the blessings of the Gau Mata. I have saved many cows from being killed at the risk of my life,” the MLA had claimed.