Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh denies allegations of spreading communal hatred through FB posts
By Newsmeter Network Published on 16 Aug 2020 5:29 PM IST
Hyderabad: Goshamahal MLA T. Raja Singh has denied allegations of publishing communal posts on his official Facebook account.
In a video published on his official Twitter account on Sunday, August 16th, the MLA said, "There are several pages operating in my name that promote vile ideas but I only maintain official handles on Twitter and YouTube. I have nothing to do with the pages that operate under my name."
In a report published by the Wall Street Journal recently, it was stated that despite a number of communal posts on Raja Singh's official Facebook handle, the heads at Facebook's India branch refused to register complaints against him. The reason, it was alleged, was because he is a member of the country's leading political organisation, Bharatiya Janata Party.
The report said that the Telangana MLA used his official Facebook page to promote anti-Islamic ideas, such as those criticising Rohingya Muslims.
Soon after the publication of the report, however, Raja Singh publicly denied all the allegations. Stating that he has does not have official Facebook pages, the MLA said that none of his posts have led to riots or communal disturbances.
He also said that his official Facebook account was hacked in 2018 and that he had filed a case on the same with the Hyderabad Cyber Crime department. "I have received no updates on the case ever since," he said.
However, the WSJ also reported that the posts which spread communal hatred on FB were from a page that carried a blue verification mark, along with the MLA's name.
Speaking to NewsMeter, Raja Singh said that he does not know how verified pages under his name popped up. "I have no control over the people who create pages in my name. The only verified page I had was hacked and deleted during 2018 state elections."
As Raja Singh has not provided NewsMeter with a copy of the complaint so far, we will be updating this piece as and when he does.
Update: Since the publication of our piece, Raja Singh has shared a copy of the complaint filed in 2018. Newsmeter was able to verify that the MLA's official FB account, that had over 5 lakh followers, was hacked and deleted by miscreants in October, 2018.
