HYDERABAD: Protests against suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh for his alleged derogatory remarks on Prophet Muhammad continued Wednesday in various parts of the Old City, where people took out rallies and raised slogans venting out their anger over his release from police custody.
Protesters came onto the streets in Talabkatta, Charminar, Mughalpura, Chanchalguda, Bahadurpura and Amberpet overnight.
Heavy police presence and repeated assurances of justice helped calm down the situation.
However, in Mughalpura, the crowd pelted stones at police patrol vehicles. Luckily, none was injured.
Protests also erupted at Shah Ali Banda in the morning, forcing the police to resort to lathi-charge.
Muslim women too staged a peaceful demonstration at the Ambedkar statue on Tank Bund against Singh, who was released Tuesday evening by a local court, which found fault with the police for not following due procedure.
Activist Khalida Parveen, speaking on the occasion, said arresting Raja Singh under simple Acts and then, releasing him exposed the indifference and soft corner the State government and the police had towards hate mongers.
MIM MLA and the party’s State General Secretary Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri, meanwhile, sent a missive to Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, seeking expulsion proceedings against Raja Singh.
“The oath binds a member to bear ‘true faith and allegiance to the Constitution.’ Raja Singh has repeatedly incited violence and promoted enmity, hatred and ill-will against Muslims. Thus, he has also violated his oath to uphold the ‘integrity of India.’ This statement is the most recent example proving that he is unfit to be a member of the House,” Quadri stated in the letter.
The MIM leader requested the Speaker to invoke the inherent powers of the Assembly as per Article 194 of the Constitution to punish any person for breach of privilege and contempt of the House.
He cited the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, as well as judgements of the Supreme Court in Raja Ram Pal (1) and Ashish Shelar (2), for initiation of expulsion proceedings against Raja Singh.
However, a former legislator, on condition of anonymity, wondered whether that procedure was permissible in the Assembly, and pointed out that such proceedings have not been initiated against any legislator either in the erstwhile AP or Telangana to date.
Raja Singh, the man in the eye of the storm, himself remained defiant and exuded confidence that the BJP will not lose him, despite being served a suspension notice on Tuesday.
He told media persons Wednesday that he will send his explanation to the central disciplinary committee of the BJP as soon as possible, and also fight the cases filed against him in courts.
Raja Singh didn’t want to elaborate on the Prophet Muhammad controversy, as the case was sub-judice. But he did assert that he has not insulted any religion in his controversial YouTube video and reiterated full confidence in BJP State president Bandi Sanjay.
Karuna Sagar, Raja Singh’s counsel, on the other hand, lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that he has received death threats from international numbers based in Arab countries, for representing Singh in the court.
Pakistan seeks action
Pakistan has termed the action against Raja Singh, ‘token and perfunctory disciplinary action’ which couldn’t assuage the pain and anguish caused to Muslims in India and across the world.
Calling his release within hours of his arrest ‘highly reprehensible,’ Pakistan demanded that the Indian government take immediate and decisive action
KCR reviews law & order situation
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday held a meeting with DGP M Mahender Reddy, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and other officials to review the law and order situation in the State.
During the four-hour meeting, Rao reviewed the security situation in view of recent incidents that occurred in the State, sources said.