Congress Welcomes Raja Singh's Arrest, Demands Ouster From Assembly

Welcoming the arrest of suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh under the PD Act for his alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed, Congress MP and former TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday demanded that Singh's membership from the Telangana Assembly be cancelled.

"It is totally outrageous that the BJP MLA made derogatory remarks against the religious head of a community and tried to get away easily. This is not acceptable in any civilised society, any modern country and 21st century India," Reddy alleged.

Accusing the TRS government of shielding Singh, he said that Singh should have been arrested under the PD Act long back, and his membership in the Telangana Legislative Assembly terminated, for his "communal and anti-Constitutional" acts. However, Singh was still enjoying the patronage of the BJP and support from the TRS government, he said.

Reddy said that the Telangana Police called itself the best in the country and had deployed huge resources to track the activities of opposition leaders, but failed to notice a provocative video uploaded and circulated by the BJP MLA. It should've booked a suo moto case against Singh within hours after he uploaded the controversial video, but got into action only after protests erupted in different parts of the State, he lamented. Further, he said, a weak FIR was registered and due procedures were not followed in the arrest, resulting in Singh getting bail within a few hours after the arrest.

The Congress MP said that Singh was a listed history-sheeter and habitual offender, but was encouraged. "The affidavit filed by Singh in the 2018 Assembly elections shows that as many as 43 criminal cases were pending against him even by then. They include nearly 15 cases related to hate speeches. Of the 43 cases, almost 30 cases were registered under the TRS regime. It is highly shameful that the Telangana Police, as per the affidavit, did not file a charge-sheet in as many as 28 out of the 43 cases. This clearly shows that the TRS government gave a license to Singh to spew venom against a community and spread hatred in the society," Reddy alleged.

Reddy also said that the BJP MLA was acquitted in 36 cases, including in a case of attempting to murder a police constable. This showed that the Hyderabad police had made no serious efforts to prove the charges against Singh, Reddy said. The TRS government did not also appeal the acquittals in the higher courts, and let Singh go scot-free, showing that it was backing him. And it also deliberately delayed the arrest of Singh under the PD Act this week to trigger protests by the Muslim youth, Reddy claimed.

"The TRS, BJP and MIM have hatched a dangerous plan to vitiate the atmosphere in Hyderabad. Now the Hyderabad police have started targeting the youth who participated in the protests. In the garb of foiling the protests, the police have taken hundreds of youth into custody. Several shocking videos of police brutality have been in circulation since Wednesday. And strangely, all markets in the twin cities have been ordered closed by 8 pm to instill fear among the common people. These unpleasant developments just before the beginning of the Ganesh festival are not a good sign. The TRS, BJP and MIM must stop playing with the lives of common people by pushing them into the fire of communalism. This will also spoil Brand Hyderabad and affect everyone in the long run," he said.

Reddy also urged Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy to terminate the membership of Singh as MLA under Article 194 and other relevant provisions.