- Tuesday, March 11, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
The situation turned tense in Hyderabad, the capital of the southern Indian state of Telangana, on Tuesday (23) night as hundreds of protesters demonstrated across the city after local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker T Raja Singh was granted bail hours after his arrest over making controversial remarks against Prophet Muhammad.
Several of the protesters were seen condemning Raja’s remarks and raising slogans of “sar tan se juda” (severe the head from the body) against him. An effigy of the lawmaker was also burnt. In Shalibanda area of Hyderabad, clashes broke out between the protesters and the police. Reports of pelting stones also came. The law-keepers dispersed the mob with their batons. A few people, including a reporter, was reportedly injured in the clashes. A police vehicle was also reportedly damaged.
The police had to deploy additional forces and use water cannons against the protesters to bring the situation under control.
Meanwhile, Rashid Khan, a leader from the Indian National Congress in Telangana, made a controversial remark that he would take law into his own hands if Singh was not arrested for his statements on the Prophet.
Singh, who represents Hyderabad’s Goshamahal constituency in Telangana legislature and is known for his hardline religious views, was arrested on Tuesday (23) for his allegedly derogatory remarks on the Prophet in a ‘comedy’ video. The BJP suspended him after the incident caused a massive outrage.
The lawmaker got bail from a criminal court in Hyderabad some hours after he was remanded to judicial custody. Cases were registered against him at various police stations across Hyderabad, a city which has a sizeable Muslim population.
Singh was booked under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 505 (2) (making, publishing or circulating any statement or report containing rumour or alarming news with intent to create or promote feelings of enmity and hatred) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Wednesday condemned Singh’s remarks and urged the Indian government to take decisive steps to stop members of the ruling BJP from making such offensive comments repeatedly.
This is the second time in the last three months that a senior BJP leader has made disrespectful comments against the Prophet, the country’s foreign office in Islamabad said in a statement.
“These highly derogatory remarks have gravely hurt the feelings of the people of Pakistan and billions of Muslims around the world,” it said.
It also said that the “token and perfunctory disciplinary action” taken by the BJP against Singh cannot assuage the pain and anguish caused to the Muslims of India and around the world.
It is highly reprehensible that Singh was released on bail within hours of arrest, the statement said.
The BJP’s action against Singh on grounds of violating its constitution came months after it suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma for making controversial comments against the Prophet.
Her comments sparked protests abroad as well with several Islamic countries objecting and taking up the matter with India. The party had also expelled its Delhi media in-charge Naveen Kumar Jindal for a controversial tweet by him.
[With agency inputs]
