Karnataka bars Telangana BJP MLA’s entry into Bagalkot over potential ‘disturbance’

Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh has been banned from entering Karnataka’s Bagalkot district for three months ahead of his planned participation in the Ganesh Visarjan program in the Mudhol area.
In an order dated September 17, the Karnataka government cited a possibility of a “disturbance of law and order”, cited Singh’s “history of inflammatory speeches” and a mosque falling on his procession’s route.
The notice was served to him at his residence in Telangana.
The Karnataka government also directed the state police ensure no untoward incident took place in Bagalkot.
Singh, a controversial politician representing the Goshamahal Constituency in Hyderabad, has a long history of making provocative speeches.
“Raja Singh is a controversial politician. Due to provocative speeches at various events, he has disturbed communal peace between two communities. In the year 2010, he was arrested by the Hyderabad Police on charges of inciting communal strife,” the official statement stated.
“In 2017, he provoked Hindus and urged every Hindu to keep swords in their homes. He also stated that Tipu Sultan, being anti-Hindu, was a fanatic who converted 50,000 Hindus to Islam,” the statement read.
Singh was suspended from the BJP in 2022 after nationwide protests over his controversial remarks against the Prophet Muhammad, and the party revoked his suspension an year later.