The Congress party in Telangana has strongly condemned BJP's MLA-elect Raja Singh's statement that he would not take oath as member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly in front of pro-tem Speaker Mumtaz Ahmed Khan, who belongs to the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). Usually, the senior-most MLA-elect is made the pro-tem Speaker and in the case of Telangana, it was 70-year-old Khan.
"Raja Singh's statement shows the level of hatred that he holds against the Muslim community. He does not deserve to be a Member of Legislative Assembly which is a symbol of democracy and secularism. He must be expelled from the House with immediate effect," All India Congress Committee (AICC) Spokesperson Dr. Sravan Dasoju said in a statement.
Pointing out that as many as 43 criminal cases were pending against Raja Singh and most of them pertained to hate speeches, Sravan asked, “Why is the TRS government, which claims to be secular, defending Raja Singh? Is Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao preventing the police authorities from taking action against the BJP MLA who has crossed all limits? Why is AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi not using his influence over CM KCR to send Raja Singh behind bars for his utterances?"
“While hate speeches made by Owaisi brothers give fodder to BJP leaders, people like Raja Singh reciprocate by making hate statements against Muslims and the AIMIM. Owaisi and Raja Singh are made for each other and both will be finished if either of them collapses," Sravan said.
Demanding that a resolution should be passed in the Assembly cancelling Raja Singh's membership, the Congress leader said, "There should be zero tolerance against people who spread hatred and communalism.”
"People like Raja Singh do not deserve to be MLA and must be expelled not only from the Assembly, but also from the party. There should be no place in the country for the people who want to survive by speaking ill against other communities," he added.
Last week, a press release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that Governor ESL Narasimhan will administer the oath to Khan, who represents the Charminar constituency, on January 16, following which the remaining MLAs will take oath on the next day.