UP Leader Plans Show Of Support For Raja Singh, Put Under House Arrest

LUCKNOW | Updated: 26 August, 2022 6:26 pm IST

Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha national spokesperson Shishir Chaturvedi was put under house arrest ahead of a planned demonstration in support of controversial Hyderabad MLA Raja Singh here on Friday.

Chaturvedi along with workers of the right wing group was planning to hold a demonstration in Lucknow to extend support to Singh, who was suspended by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for making objectionable remarks against Prophet Muhammad.

“Raja Singh was arrested under pressure of Islamic extremists,” Chaturvedi said in a video message to his supporters.

In the video message recorded at his residence, the Hindu Mahasabha leader demanded “strict action” against the Islamic clerics and extremists who called for “Sar Tan Se Juda” (beheading of those who criticise the prophet).

“The UP government should take strict action against Maulana Tauqeer Raza and others who chanted ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’. I also demand that my memorandum in support of Raja Singh be collected from my residence so that my voice reaches the government,” he stated.

Raza, who heads Ittehad-e-Millat Council, recently claimed that the government might get Raja Singh killed. “If something happens to him, then the government, not Muslims will be responsible,” he reportedly said.

Accusing the BJP government of promoting hate against Muslims, Raza had warned of protests against the state government.

Raja Singh, the controversial Hyderabad MLA, was booked and arrested for his remarks on the prophet, nearly three months after now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma kicked off a storm with a similar comment.

Singh was later released on bail, but suspended by the BJP for “violating its constitution”.

Singh was arrested again on Thursday under the stringent Preventive Detention Act hours after he released a video about what he called “communal atmosphere”. The court had, while granting him bail in the hate speech case, instructed him not to make any such provocative comments.

In a video, Singh alleged that AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi was given free hand to “throw stones” and accused the TRS government of not taking any action against the lawmaker.

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