Till recently, Raja Singh was just another BJP MLA from Old City of Hyderabad, a local guy seen as a Hindutva bulwark against MIM and the Owaisi brothers.
But thanks to the OU Beef festival controversy, he has made front page headlines of all major newspapers with his statements.
To express their right to diet, certain student organizations of OU have decided to conduct a beef festival in the university again this year. It was held last year as well and turned violent after students were divided on the issue and clashed at the venue.
This year, the students opposing the festival found strong support in the form of Raja Singh, MLA from Goshamahal, Hyderabad.
“Cow is my mother. I am willing to kill or be killed for my mother,” said Raja Singh while saying that he would not allow the beef festival at any cost.
When asked about the political repercussions and censure from the BJP, he said, “I am a Hindu first and a BJP MLA next. It doesn’t matter even if the BJP doesn’t agree with me. I will stop the festival.”
The student organizations have retorted to this by saying that they will welcome Raja Singh with weapons if he comes to the venue. Needless to say, the police in Hyderabad are on tenterhooks.
For long, Kishan Reddy was the lone face of the BJP in Telangana. Although the BJP could not make any inroads here, Kishan Reddy was a consistent poll winner. Some view Raja Singh’s emergence as a threat to the hegemony of Kishan Reddy.
The primary reason behind Raja Singh’s rift could be that Kishan Reddy was encouraging the brother of Mukesh Goud, former MLA who Raja Singh views as a rival. Kishan Reddy for his part said that Raja Singh was acting on his own without his approval.
Raja Singh has also written a letter to the BJP High Command saying that Kishan Reddy had to be dismissed as BJP President for the party to prosper in Telangana.
Now, all eyes are centered on the beef festival. If Raja Singh actually manages to thwart it, he might become a hero in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar and it would be a stepping stone to greater inclusion in the BJP scheme of things.
But if Kishan Reddy can get his plan working, then Raja Singh might be suspended or removed from the BJP soon. It’s a double-edged sword that Raja Singh is wielding.
Only time will tell how successful he will be.
