A BJP MLA from Hyderabad has kicked up a row with his remarks that the heads of "traitors" opposing construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya will be chopped off, drawing criticism from the Congress and getting booked for trying to "outrage religious feelings".
T Raja Singh, who represents Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad, was heard issuing the threat to those opposed to Ram temple in Ayodhya in a video of Ram Navmi celebrations shot on 5 April which has gone viral.
Hyderabad Police on Sunday registered a case against Singh on the complaint of Amjed Ullah Khan, the spokesman for Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT), a local organisation of Muslims.
He has been booked by Dabeerpura police under IPC section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), Police Inspector D Venkanna Naik told PTI.
In his complaint, Khan said:
In the video, the MLA purportedly says, "The day is not far..the dream of every Hindu of building a Ram temple in Ayodhya (will be fulfilled).”
When contacted on Sunday, Singh appeared defiant and said he can give his life for the sake of Ram temple and "even take the life of traitors who oppose the building of Ram temple."
In the video, the MLA was heard saying:
Union minister Uma Bharati had said on Saturday that it was her "astha" (conviction) that the temple would be constructed in Ayodhya.
Amid the row, the Congress hit out at the BJP, saying its "mask" has fallen off and that minorities were being "intimidated" under the Modi government.
She said action could be taken against the MLA, if required.
However, the Congress was unimpressed, with its spokesperson Sanjay Jha contending that the BJP cannot wash off its hands by calling those making inflammatory statements fringe elements.
"The truth is that there is no fringe anymore. These are mainstream elected BJP leaders either in Parliament or the Assembly.... This is a political strategy. This is a manifestation of the ugliest form of politics.”
He was referring to the lynching of a Muslim man on suspicion that he had stored beef in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, in 2015, and the recent fatal attack on another man from the community by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan.
The Supreme Court, which is hearing the Ayodhya case, had recently said that the issue should be resolved through talks.
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