Suspended BJP MLA of Goshamahal constituency in Telangana Raja Singh on Tuesday, August 29 vowed to continue working for ‘Hindu Rashtra’ and said that he would die before joining any secular party. Singh ruled out any possibility of joining either Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) or the Congress party.
He expressed hope that his suspension would be revoked but also said that if it wasn’t, he would not contest the election as an independent candidate or on the ticket of any other party. “If necessary, I will stay away from politics for some years and work for my goal of turning India into Hindu Rashtra,” he told reporters.
Earlier this month Singh had stated in the state Assembly that he might not be a member of the next Telangana Assembly. The controversial legislator also remarked that both ‘ghar wale’ and ‘bahar wale’ don’t want him in the next Assembly. The statement was however unsubstantiated.
Telangana Assembly elections are due to be held towards the end of 2023.
Last month, he met Telangana Health Minister T Harish Rao, triggering speculation that he was planning to shift loyalties to the ruling BRS. The MLA was arrested by the police in August last year for making certain comments hurting religious sentiments of Muslims. He was sent to jail on August 25 after the Hyderabad Police commissioner had invoked the Preventive Detention (PD) Act.
Raja Singh was released on November 9 after spending two months in jail.
The Telangana High Court had set aside the police commissioner’s order and released the MLA on bail but directed him not to make any speech or comment which could incite hatred among communities.