Telangana Lawmaker's Shocking Statement: "Poison Your Girl If She Is Love Jihad Victim"

Hyderabad:

A Telangana legislator has sparked outrage with his disturbing statement suggesting parents should "poison your girl if she becomes a victim of 'love jihad' and refuses to return." T Raja Singh, who represents Hyderabad's Goshamahal constituency, has also faced criticism for making derogatory comments about Prophet Mohammad.

Following the emergence of a video showing Singh making these remarks at a public gathering in Madhya Pradesh during Dussehra festivities last week, police registered a case on Saturday.

The event featured frequent chants of 'Jai Shri Ram' and included a ceremony where over 1,100 young individuals were inducted into a right-wing organization called Hindu Yuva Vahini, receiving symbolic swords as part of their initiation.

Singh has a history of making inflammatory and communally divisive statements.

During a visit to Goa last year, he called on the Christian community to 'unite' with Hindus against 'love jihad' – a term right-wing groups use to describe relationships between Muslim men and Hindu women, which they claim are schemes to force religious conversion of the women.

His controversial actions in Goa included destroying the Bangladeshi flag.

In August 2022, Hyderabad Police arrested Singh after he published a video containing remarks about the Prophet, which he claimed was in response to stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui's performance. His comments triggered protests. Though a BJP member at the time, the party suspended him.

He was granted bail shortly after his arrest but was detained again two days later.

His suspension was lifted in October, allowing him to contest the state election, and he was appointed as the BJP's state unit chief.

In 2020, Facebook banned Singh from all its platforms, designating him as a 'dangerous individual' due to repeated instances of hate speech and incitement to violence.

Singh has won the Goshamahal constituency three consecutive times for the BJP, beginning with the first Telangana Assembly election in 2014. He has also resigned from the party on three separate occasions.

He quit the BJP most recently in June following reports that the party had selected N Ramchander Rao as the next state unit leader. Rao took office the following month, prompting Singh to criticize his former party for allegedly failing to fulfill promises.