HYDERABAD: It was not the first controversial statement that Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh made when he said that illegal Bangaldeshis and Rohingyas should be shot dead if they do not leave the country peacefully. And neither, certainly, is it going to be the last one. Which brings to the question: Where does the BJP leadership stand on his comments?
Speaking to TNIE’s editorial team, BJP National General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao made it clear that the party does not stand with anyone advocating illegalities. “BJP disowns any kind of statement that advocates law should be taken into their hand.” However, when pressed for a comment on the subject of taking action against the legislator, he restricted himself to a smile.
The fact that BJP’s party line has had minimal to no effect on Singh could be gauged from his repeated vitriolistic statements. For example, in April, Singh again gained the spotlight when he proposed beheading Muslims who opposed the construction Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Following, that a few weeks later, BJP’s GVL Narasimha Rao had told Express, “..some politicos including our party leaders appear to be resorting to making headline grabbing remarks. However, none of our seniors approves of such statements if they are against the party line.”Since then, Singh has made numerous such statements, each unconstitutional, hate-mongering and illegal and has done so with impunity.
The fact that he could care less about what the party wants is evident in a comment he made in June regarding the Ram Mandir issue.Addressing netizens on social media, Singh had said, “If BJP does not build the Ram Mandir by 2019, then I would leave the party and take up preparations for its construction on my own.”
In his speeches, he also repeatedly criticises “Hindus” not devoted to cow or protecting cows and urges them to stop terming themselves as a Hindu.“The country will only develop when you start caring for your cows,” the BJP MLA said in a rally.
In the same rally, he later said, “Cow-related lynchings will continue in India as long as cow slaughter continues and the animal is not deemed as the national animal of India with proper administrtation dedicated to its protection.” His statements were received with a resounding cheer.