Soon after social media giant Facebook banned BJP MLA T Raja Singh from the platform on Thursday, 3 September, over hateful content, the BJP Telangana MLA claimed that it’s been more than a year since he left Facebook.
The controversial leader also asked whether the company is being pressured by the Congress party, reported NDTV.
“I will write to Facebook to open my official account. I will follow all rules and regulations to use it. I should be given the right to use my Facebook account and I will seek their permission,” said BJP MLA Singh.
The BJP MLA also defended the social media network and said “Facebook is a neutral platform.”
Singh was banned amid a continuing political row over Facebook and its alleged bias towards BJP.
This comes days after an investigative report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) had pointed out how Facebook India executive Ankhi Das had opposed enforcement of hate speech rules against BJP and other Hindutva leaders, including Singh.
Extensive Evaluation Process Led Us to This Decision: Facebook
"We have banned Raja Singh from Facebook for violating our policy prohibiting those that promote or engage in violence and hate from having a presence on our platform. The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to this decision," a Facebook spokesperson told WSJ in a recent report.
According to the report, at least five Facebook profiles dedicated to him have been removed, along with an Instagram account.
The WSJ Probe
In a report published 15 August, The Wall Street Journal had cited several current and former employees of Facebook, saying that the company’s hate speech rules were not applied to at least four “Hindu nationalist individuals and groups flagged internally for promoting or participating in violence”.
T Raja Singh was named among those four individuals.
A member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly representing the Goshamahal Assembly constituency in Hyderabad, T Raja Singh has over 60 cases against him, most relating to ‘hate speech’.
Some Examples of Hate Speech by T Raja Singh
In July 2018, T Raja Singh had referred to Rohingya Muslims as “pests”.
“Rohingya Muslims must be sent back to their country. India does not need to keep such pests. Those Rohingya and Bangladeshi that do not return, should be shot.”Raja Singh, 31 July 2018
In January 2018, right before the release of Deepika Padukone’s Padmaavat, Raja Singh had said “even if you want to burn or break the theatres, ensure that no one watches the movie”.
In 2017, amid communal clashes in West Bengal, Raja Singh had alluded to the 2002 Gujarat riots and asked Hindus to respond the way Hindus had done back then.
According to reported estimates, the Gujarat riots had ended with 1,044 people dead, the majority of them (790) Muslims.
“This is why I appeal to my Hindu brothers, and Bengal tigers, to wake up. My brothers, you remember what happened in 2002 in Gujarat, when Hindus were killed. The way that the Hindus responded in Gujarat, today, there is a need for Hindus in Bengal to respond the same way.”Raja Singh in July 2017 during communal clashes in West Bengal
Notably, Raja Singh had recently claimed that he doesn’t have an official Facebook page, adding that his account had been "hacked and blocked" in 2018.
(With inputs from NDTV)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)