BJP revokes Raja Singh's suspension, nominates him from Goshamahal

HYDERABAD: Ahead of elections in Telangana, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has revoked the suspension of its controversial leader and Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh. On Saturday, a letter from the BJP's central disciplinary committee states that it was happy with the explanation offered by Raja Singh and that his suspension has been revoked.

Reacting to this, Raja Singh thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, party national president Amit Shah and other important State leaders for revoking the suspension..

It seems like the BJP was left with no option but to lift the suspension of Raja Singh as the party announced its first list of candidates for the upcoming polls on Sunday and has fielded Singh from Goshamahal constituency. It has to be noted that Raja Singh was the lone MLA to be elected from the party in the 2018 Assembly elections.

Why was Raja Singh suspended?

Raja Singh was suspended from the party in August, 2022 after the Telangana police arrested him for his provocative statements against Prophet Mohammad hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslim community. He was booked under the Preventive Detention (PD) Act for his comments in a YouTube video targeting stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui who earlier staged a show in Hyderabad.

These statements came at a time when the BJP was already facing backlash due to the Nupur Sharma controversy and the subsequent threats to her life. The Central Government was also under pressure over it with several other countries expressing concern over the developments.

Though Raja Singh was released from jail in November, 2022 after the Telangana High Court set aside his arrest under the PD Act, Raja Singh did make provocative statements in other States.

Several Hindu groups too tried to pressurise the BJP to lift the suspension but to no avail. Raja Singh in fact publically stated that he would take retirement from politics if he was not offered a ticket for the 2023 elections and serve the Hindu community.

Irrespective of his party affiliation, Raja Singh is a strong candidate for the Goshamahal constituency.