T. Raja Singh

T. Raja Singh (born 15 April 1977) is an Indian politician from the state of Telangana. He is the incumbent MLA of the Telangana Legislative Assembly representing the Goshamahal Assembly constituency in Hyderabad. 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 On 22 October 2023, his suspension was revoked. Singh had served as the BJP party whip for the state of Telangana.
Early life
T. Raja Singh belongs to Lodha community, which has a large presence in Goshamahal Assembly constituency in old city. Lodha Community is an OBC Community belonging to people emigrated from Uttar Pradesh, and are generally not counted as mainstream Kshatriya Rajputs.
Career
Singh started his political career in 2009 with the Telugu Desam Party and was elected as Mangalhat representative to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation until 2014. He joined the BJP ahead of the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election and won the election for the Goshamahal Assembly constituency with a margin of 46,793 against Mukesh Goud.
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.
Controversies
Hate Speech on Old City of Hyderabad
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." In July 2017, he appealed to the West Bengali Hindu community to respond in a manner similar to the 2002 Gujarat riots. He has also repeatedly called for the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra by armed means.
Anti Muslim Speech on Quran
In June 2018, Singh called for a Quran ban. He is known for his vocal anti-Muslim views, which includes calling them traitors and backing the shooting of Rohingya people. In 2023, during Shiv Jayanti, in Shrirampur, Ahmad Nagar district, he made remarks against Muslims which led to a riot. On 2 September 2020, Facebook labelled Singh as a "dangerous individual" and banned him from all Facebook platforms.
Comments on Prophet Muhammad
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. He was subsequently suspended from BJP for violating party norms. He was released on bail the same evening but later arrested again on 25 August 2022.
101 Criminal cases Registered on Singh
On 27 Oct 2022, the Hyderabad Police claimed that 101 criminal cases had been registered against the legislator, of which 18 were related to communal offences.
In October 2023, following the revocation of his suspension, he is fielded as the BJP canditate in the upcoming 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly elections. He is set to contest from his home constituency, Goshamahal, which he has represented for two terms now.
Hate speech on Palestinian people of Gaza
Singh gave another Hate speech targeting the Muslim community, urging the government to intervene in the protests involving pro-Palestinian, Israeli flags being placed on the ground.
References
External links
T. Raja Singh affidavit
Living people
1977 births
People from Telangana
Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Telangana
Indian far-right politicians
Telangana MLAs 2018–2023
Telangana MLAs 2014–2018
Hate speech
Indian politicians convicted of crimes