Over the past one month, suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh has been seen attending several rallies in Maharashtra and delivering speeches full of hateful content and open calls for violence and boycott against Muslims. Alt News has already documented hate speeches delivered by him at the Shiv Jayanti celebrations in Latur on February 19 and the Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha in Mumbai on January 29.
Several FIRs have been lodged against him for his incendiary speeches in Maharashtra. The latest was on March 19 when he and Sudarshan News editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke were booked for delivering communally charged speeches at a Hindu Jangarjna Rally organized by ‘Sakal Hindu Ekatrikaran Samiti’. They were booked under IPC sections 153 for wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot, 153 (A) for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place etc and under Section 505 for making statements amounting to public mischief. Some of the attendees broke a large illuminating board reading ‘I Love Aurangabad’ and also posted photos and videos on social media. Some of them allegedly pelted stones at Nirala Bazar- bank and broke its glasses, tore down banners and flexes, etc.
An FIR against suspended BJP MLA from Telangana T Raja Singh was registered by the Shrirampur City police in Ahmednagar on the basis of a complaint by a resident, accusing the leader of delivering a vitriolic speech on March 10 when an organization invited him to deliver a speech on Chhatrapati Shivaji Jayanti.
Earlier, T Raja had been issued a notice for an old remark on January 19 under the CrPC Section 41 A (3) and (4). He was again served a notice on January 30 after his speech at the ‘Hindu Jan Akhrosh Morcha’. On February 2, a lawyer requested an urgent hearing in the Supreme Court against the Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha programme slated for February 5 in Mumbai. He argued that in a similar event held in the city on January 29, there were calls for violence and boycott against Muslims. The court, however, passed an order permitting the ‘Hindu Jan Akhrosh Rally’ to be held on February 5.
Below, Alt News has attempted to analyze and document the speeches by T Raja Singh in various parts of Maharashtra over the past one month. All of the speeches are available on his YouTube channel.
March 10 Speech in Shrirampur
Twitter account Hindutva Watch tweeted a clip from the speech in Shrirampur on March 10. T Raja can be heard addressing Muslims as ‘Landya’, an anti-Muslim slur. “Jo bhi landya Love Jihad karega, arey beta tum aadhe kate ho, pure kaat denge“, Singh is heard telling the sizeable crowd as he is met with a huge rounds of applause from the audience and organizers. He then says that Muslims won’t even get loudspeakers to pray 5 times a day in a Hindu Rashtra.
Singh also lauds Balasaheb Thackeray, who he claims, openly threatened to ‘clean out’ the landya by shooting them. He goes on to claim that Thackeray spoke of ‘eliminating’ insects and cockroaches (Muslims) with a spray. He also claims that Thackeray described the ideal Hindu youth to be the ones who can kill anyone who opposes the Hindutva faith or the country, or anyone who commits Land Jihad or Love Jihad. He then urges his audience to listen to Thackeray’s speech and ‘implement’ it.
In another clip of the speech uploaded by HindutvaWatch, Singh can be seen calling for a large-scale economic boycott of Muslims by urging them to refrain from buying products with Halal certification. He stated that sellers of halal-certified products fund terror organizations and instructs his audience to buy only from ’tilaakdhaaris’, not buy even 1 rupee worth of products from Muslims. He also encourages the demolishing of kabrs or tombs as it will ‘strengthen the Hindutva faith’.
The full speech has been uploaded to T Raja Singh’s YouTube channel. Below is a summary.
On March 10, Singh started his speech by saying that the country does not need ‘na-mard’ youth who identify as secular citizens and don’t raise their voices to support Hindutva. He expressed the need for men who reinforce the traditions and values preached by Chhatrapati Shivaji. He went on to deny claims that Chhatrapati Shivaji’s army included several Muslim persons, whom he refers to as ‘harami landya’. “All of the wars that Chhatrapati Shivaji fought were against these harami landya“. His words were met with a huge round of applause from the audience. Between the 7:00 and 8:00 minute mark, Singh used the word ‘landya’ four times. Singh then went on to speak about constructing a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji at the intersection in Shrirampur. He encouraged his followers to destroy any politician who opposes the construction.
Singh touched upon the topic of ‘Love Jihad’ next. Using the example of Shraddha Walkar’s murder, he can be heard saying, “Shraddha was taken to Delhi where she was cut into 35 pieces by these haraamis“. He says that it is imperative for Hindus to read the histories of Jijabai, Rani of Jhansi and Ahillyabai to realize who to befriend and who to stay away from. He also stresses the need to educate Hindu daughters about the dangers of love jihad and the supposed targeted killing of Hindus in several areas of the country. He also talks about a supposed unit, set up for the purpose of ‘Love Jihad’. Apparently, rates have also been set for girls belonging to different communities, for instance, Brahmin girls for Rs 5 lacs, Rajput girls for Rs 4 Lac, etc. Singh asks, “Who is giving these landya money? How are they getting money for conversions, Love Jihad? These haramis are financially supported by units, all across the country, to trap our daughters and sisters“.
The reader must note that the Love Jihad rate card reference that Singh used in his speech has been debunked several times in the past. This is not the only time he has used this piece of misinformation in his speech. He was heard referring to the rate card during his speech at the ‘Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha’ in Mumbai on January 29.
Singh spoke about how ‘Love Jihadis’ become especially active during the Navratri season. He claimed that they put on tilak and enter the Garba events to trap Hindu women. Apparently, 4000-5000 cases of love jihad are found to happen at Garba events every year. He then made an open threat of violence by asking the police to either stop the ‘love jihadis’ from entering Garba events or letting them take matters into their own hands. “In the future, if the law and order are disturbed, then don’t blame us“, says Singh.
Singh also lauded Eknath Shinde for demolishing “unauthorized structures” around Afzal Khan’s tomb. He then urged him to demolish other Muslim structures- “The more you break these (structures) down, the Hindutva faith will be further strengthened”. He also urged the Maharashtra chief minister should follow the pattern set by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Singh also said the encroachments from the forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj should be removed just like the tomb of Afzal Khan at the Pratapgad fort in Satara district of Maharashtra. “Shinde should also be known as bulldozer Eknath Shinde”.
T Raja furthered the narrative of divisive politics by using the rhetoric that Hindus and Muslims are incapable of co-existing peacefully. “Shivaji Maharaj and Aurangzeb can never be brothers. Veer Maharana Pratap and Akbar can never be brothers. People who say Vande Mataram and people who oppose Vande Mataram, can they ever be brothers?… The day you start worshipping Gaumata, the day you utter Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata ki Jai, the day you give up committing crimes of love jihad, we will decide if can call you landya brothers”.
“Some people are opposed to changing Aurangabad’s name. Some people are opposed to changing Usmanabad’s name. I want to tell those landyas that this is just the beginning. Ahmednagar’s name will also change. Ahillyabai Nagar will be implemented and we will fully erase Ahmednagar. Hyderabad will also be changed to Bhagyanagar. Some say that they were born in Aurangabad and they will die in Aurangabad too. To those haramis I want to say: You were born in Aurangabad but you will die in Sambhajinagar, you will die in a Hindurashtra,” roared Singh as he was met with collective cheer from the audience.
March 19 Speech in Aurangabad
T Raja and Sudarshan News’ editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke delivered communally charged speeches during the Hindu Jangarjna Rally on March 19, while sharing the dais with religious leaders and two state cabinet minsters, Sandipan Bhumare and Atul Save. Shiv Sena MLA Pradeep Jaiswal and BJP MLA Shivendra Raje Bhosale were also present. The rally led to the damaging of public property and the pelting of stones by some of the attendees. Seven FIRs were filed, including for rioting and the damage to public property act. In the seventh FIR, Raja and Chavhanke have also booked under sections They were booked under IPC sections 153 for wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot, 153 (A) for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place etc and under Section 505 for making statements amounting to public mischief.
BJP MLA Shivendrasinghraje Bhonsle also posted images of himself from the event on Instagram.
Twitter account HindutvaWatch tweeted several clips from the speech. In the first one, T Raja can be heard asking his audience whether they want to shoot ‘Love Jihadis’ to which they reply in an affirmative cheer. “Take your teams to wherever there is a case of Love Jihad. Are you scared? In the future, whenever you’re scared, remember Shambhaji Maharaj. If the authorities don’t comply, they’re are already half circumcised, cut them entirely“, says Singh in an open call for violence. This particular line had been used by Singh in his Shrirampur speech as well.
He was also heard passing remarks against AIMIM leader Asaddudin Owaisi. According to him, Owaisi wasn’t successful in serving Muslims and thus would be incapable of serving Hindus. Muslims under him are unhappy, and he is here to fool the people. He is the older bulldog and his brother is the younger bulldog. “Yeh napunsak hai saale landya. Aur yeh napunsakon ko kaise sabak seekhana hai, mai aap sabko yehi kehna chaunga jis prakar se Chhaatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ne Afzal Khan ko sabak sikhaya, aaj inn gaddaron ko usi prakar se sabak seekhana hai“, thundered Singh while addressing the Owaisis.
One can find the entire speech at Aurangabad on his official YouTube channel.
As in the Shrirampur speech, T Raja addressed those who oppose Aurangabad’s name change and said, “To those haramis I want to say: You were born in Aurangabad but you will die in Sambhajinagar, you will die in a Sambhaji Nagar, in a Hindurashtra. Whoever comes up to claim Aurnagabd’s name, you will be destroyed”. He then called for an economic boycott of Muslims. Raja claimed that Balasaheb Thackeray had imagined the ideal Hindu to be the ones who shoot Muslims (whom he refers to as ‘landyas’) and not ones to ring bells at Mandirs.
March 5 Speech in Malang Gad
On March 5, T Raja Singh had given a similar speech at an event organized by the Sakal Hindu Samaj, attended by thousands of people. He made several open calls for violence against Muslims whom he referred to as ‘landya’ and ‘haraami’. He even made threats to unfurl the saffron flag atop Haji Abdul Dargah and remove any of its traces.
Below, we have summarized the entire speech, which is available on his YouTube channel titled “जो हिन्दू हित की बात करेगा वही देश पे राज करेगा” (Translation:)
In his speech, Singh reiterated how Hindus are victims of ‘Love Jihad’, ‘Land Jihad’ and the disrespect of religious beliefs in their own land. “…Gaaye har Hindu ki mata hai, lekin yeh landya humare gaumata ko kaattey hai“. He urged all the Hindus of Malangad to stand united and stop the ‘illegal construction’ of Islamic structures like Dargahs and mosques. Speaking about authoritative action against these constructions, Singh can be heard saying, “Mujhe toh lagta hai, ke kuch department ke log in landon ke talve chaat rahe hai” (Translation: I feel that some department people are bootlickers of these landya). This sentence was met with a loud cheer and the sound of conches.
Speaking about Love Jihad, he urged all the women in his audience to be like Jijamata, apparently implying that they should bring up children who would fight against Muslims. He also spoke about a supposed gang actively committing crimes of ‘Love Jihad’, similar to his speech in Shrirampur. “It is your dream to raise two children — One a doctor and one an engineer — and build your dream house with the money that they earn. But remember that these people (Muslims) will take over the houses that you build with your hard-earned money. What happened in Kashmir will happen at every corner of the country…” says Singh. He urged people to stop believing in secularism since India would turn into a Hindu Rashtra in the near future. He further instructed his followers in Malangad to refrain from donating even 1 rupee to ‘green topiwallas’. Singh also reiterated that Hindus and Muslims can never ‘be brothers’.
T Raja called for a large-scale economic boycott of Muslims during his speech in Malang Gad as well. “Jaha se aap kalesh aur pichkari khareedon, yeh dekhlo ki waha par koi Abdul toh nahi naitha hai?…Agar colour khareedna ho toh kisi tilakdhari se khareedo“. T Raja Singh ended his speech by demanding the changing of names of cities to Hindu names.
Feb 26 Speech in Solapur
While addressing a sizeable crowd at the Hindu Garjana Morcha in Solapur, Maharashtra on February 26, T Raja Singh called for laws against land jihad and love jihad. He had, once again, called on Hindus to pick up arms against Muslims and pitched for an economic boycott against the community. “Agar Love Jihad aur Gau hatya par kanoon nahi banega toh aane wale samay mein, jo Love Jihad karega, jo dharmantar karega, jo meri Gaumata ko kaatega — jis prakar se Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ne 12 saal ki umar mein kasai ka haat kaat kar Gaumata ki raksha kiyi thi — uss prakar se Bharat ka Hindu talvaar uthakar un kutto ko jawaab dega“.
He can be heard saying that, to prevent ‘landyas’ from trapping Hindu daughters and sisters, Hindus need to spread awareness against ‘Love Jihad’ and religious conversion by regularly speaking to the younger generation about it. He claimed that 35,000 girls had been victims of Love Jihad in Kerala. The reader must note that Alt News had debunked this blatant misinformation that was popularized through the trailer of the movie, The Kerala Story. He further claimed that Muslims (whom he refers to as ‘landyas‘) trap Hindu women and assault them if they don’t want to turn into ‘child-bearing machines’. He can also be heard referring to the oft-repeated theory of fictional rate cards.
Here too, he called for an economic boycott of the Muslim producers. “Dargah mein mannat maangne waalo, tumhare ghar mein Chhatrapati Shivaji hoga ya Afzal Khan paida hoga?…… Jo bhi Hindu Hindi baat karega wohi desh mein raaj karega, woh hi Maharashtra mein raaj karega”. He was also heard implying Hindus and Muslims could nnot exist together unless they stop committing crimes of trapping Hindu women, killing gaumata (used the term haramipana) and other rhetoric. Here too, he demanded a change of names of cities like Usmanabad and Ahmednagar.
The Solapur rally was also addressed by Dhananjay Desai, the president of Hindu Rashtra Sena.
To sum up, undaunted by FIRs, T Raja Singh has continued to use slurs and abuses against Muslims in his speeches. He has also harped on the conspiracy theories like ‘Love Jihad’ and ‘Land Jihad’, and some oft-repeated false claims which are regular features of the Right Wing rhetoric. Call for violence against Muslims and economic blockade apart, he has upped the ante on his demands for Hindu Rashtra in his latest speeches in Maharashtra.
This story was originally published in altnews.in. Read the full story here