MLA’s right to dissent is sacrosanct!

Singh is a bona-fide citizen of India. Our Constitution guarantees to every citizen his fundamental right to freedom of expression. Singh's right to dissent is sacrosanct.

The suspension of Telangana MLA T Raja Singh by the Bharatiya Janata Party for his alleged remarks at the Prophet Mohammad is extremely unfortunate. A statement from the party's central disciplinary committee says Singh has "expressed views contrary" to its constitution;" he has hence been "suspended" from the party and its "responsibilities/assignments if any, with immediate effect."

Observers say there is no evidence that Singh has done anything contrary to the party's constitution. The party is ideologically rooted in the philosophy of Hinduism. The quintessence of Hinduism is respect for all religions/truth paths. Hinduism does not preach any disrespect to Islam or hatred/violence towards those who follow this or any other religion in the world.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the chief representative of Hinduism and a constant guide to the BJP, has been very clear about it. In his famous lecture series at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi in 2018, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said the organisation believes in 'unity in diversity'.

Bhagwat stated, "Hindu Rashtra does not mean there's no place for Muslims. It is not at all so. The day it is said that we don't want Muslims, it won't be Hindutva.... The day we say that only Vedas will be followed, we don't want Buddhists because they don't follow Vedas, it won't be Hindutva."

The RSS chief reiterated that everyone who lived in India was Hindu. He said, "They have the freedom to not call themselves (Hindu) but they have one national identity. We call it Hindu. Some people proudly say they are Hindu. Some people know but they don't have so much pride about it. That's okay.... Some people won't say it because of material consideration and political correctness. Some people say it privately. Others have forgotten or have been made to forget. But all these people are ours. In our view, together we are a Hindu community."

In the present case, Singh has done nothing that amounts to hurting the sentiments of those who believe in the Prophet or Islam. The social media platform has pulled down the video he had posted. It can be uploaded to ascertain whether he offended any religious sentiments.

All that Singh did in the case was to criticise stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui, who had recently performed in the city. Faruqui's anti-Hindu views are well known. Last year, Faruqui was arrested in Madhya Pradesh over his alleged "indecent" remarks against Hindu deities. There had been a case against him in UP too for the insulting remarks he had made against Hindu deities Ram and Sita.

Singh is a bona-fide citizen of India. Our Constitution guarantees to every citizen his fundamental right to freedom of expression. Singh's right to dissent is sacrosanct.

The observers add the state government and its police ought to have been fair to Singh. The Hyderabad police should not have hurried to arrest him simply on the basis of the allegations levelled by certain motivated communal groups.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

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