Hours before arrest, T Raja Singh slammed KTR, Owaisi in new video
Claiming Telangana minister KT Rama Rao of doing “vote bank politicis”, suspended BJP leader T Raja Singh said the BJP had protested against stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui's show three months ago but KTR gave him police protection and made the programme successful.
Hours before suspended Telangana BJP leader T Raja Singh was arrested by the Hyderabad Police under the state’s stringent Preventive Detention Act, the second time that the legislator has been arrested this week, he had lashed out at state minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi in a new video.
Alleging KTR of doing vote bank politics, Singh said he had only targeted stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui, who recently performed a show in Hyderabad despite the BJP opposing the same, and not any religion in his previous video.
In his latest self-made video, Singh claimed that he had only protested against the conduct of Faruqui's programme in the Telangana capital, and had urged KTR to not allow the comedian to perform.
“What is the reason behind the communal atmosphere that is there in Telangana today? Various things are being shown in the national media. We had protested against the programme of Munawar Faruqui three months ago. The programme was cancelled then with the help of the police. Munawar Faruqui contacted KCR's (Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao) son KTR on Twitter and sought permission to conduct the programme. KTR is an atheist. He invites Faruqui and gives him police protection. He made the programme successful,” Singh said.
“I urged KTR for 10 days not to let the programme take place, but his ego came in between. It is because of vote bank politics, thinking if the programme is cancelled, the BJP would benefit, and if the programme is a success, it would benefit TRS and AIMIM,” he added.
Singh was also held on Tuesday but released hours later following a court order. The bail triggered massive protests across Hyderabad, with people burning effigies of the suspended BJP leader and waving black flags. Police had to resort to baton charge to disperse the mob.
The suspended BJP leader said that he had not taken the name of Prophet Mohammed anywhere in the video. "My target was Faruqui and I did comedy on him," Singh said.
He also slammed Owaisi, claiming he had a hand in inciting communal violence in Hyderabad and that the “police have become a puppet” of the AIMIM chief.
Hitting out at protests across the city that continue to keep the situation tense, Singh called out police for not taking action against those chanting ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans. “How many people have you arrested, those who openly talk about chopping off my head?” he asked.