Defying the orders of the Hyderabad Police, controversial BJP MLA T Raja Singh took out a massive Ram Navami rally today with the usual fanfare and sang songs glorifying Hindutva.
The Hyderabad police had denied him permission to take out the rally which starts from Akashpuri Hanuman Temple and ends at Hanuman Vyamshala in RamKoti.
Yesterday, Singh had posted a video on X and claimed that the police had rejected permission at the last moment though he had submitted his application for permission nearly 40-42 days back.
“Today at 8:30 pm on April 16th, I received a letter rejecting permission for this year’s Shri Ram Navami procession. What’s alarming is that the letter was dated April 14 leaving us with insufficient time to address this issue,” wrote the MLA.
“It’s disheartening to witness such a sudden and unjustified obstruction to our Hindu freedom. We anticipated such actions from the current Congress government, following in the footsteps of KCR and ignoring Hindu sentiments,” he added. He, however, invited people to join the procession.
Wearing saffron clothes and a turban with a picture of Ram Temple on his chest Raja Singh first joined the procession after worshipping at the local Hanuman temple. He was surrounded by his armed guards who formed a ring around him as his supporters tried to come closer.
He then stood atop a vehicle and sang songs accompanied by a full DJ while his supporters danced on the streets. Mosques on the route of the procession had been covered by white cloth. At certain spots, Singh stopped to address his supporters.
Raja Singh had been taking out the procession on the occasion of Ram Navami since 2010. He has also been booked in the past for singing Islamophobic songs.
Singh is known for being a cow vigilante and giving hate speeches before he spent close to three months in jail after he was put away under the Preventive Detention Act. He has more than 100 cases of hate speeches against him.