Bhartiya Janta Party’s only MLA in Telangana Raja Singh has declared that he will not take oath in front of pro-tem Speaker of the house Mumtaz Ahmed Khan belonging to the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen or AIMIM. He said this in a video uploaded on Facebook today.

The first session of the newly elected Telangana Assembly is scheduled to start on January 17, and as per rules, the MLAs of the house will take oath on the first day. As the speaker of the house is selected after the oath taking by the members, a pro-tem speaker is designated to conduct the oath taking. Generally, the seniormost member is named as pro-tem speaker, and 70-year-old Khan was designated as pro-tem speaker of the house, as informed by the Chief Minister’s office. The pro-tem speaker takes charge until a new speaker and deputy speakers are chosen by the house.

“I will neither go to House on 17 January nor will take oath as MLA and I don’t care if other members take or not. I will not take oath in front of a person, whose party wants to finish the Hindu community, wage war in the country and refuse to chant Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata ki Jay” Raja Singh says in the video. He also added that KC Rao, CM of Telangana, has taken this decision in collusion with AIMIM members, that too at late night yesterday.

Ahmed Khan will take oath as pro-tem Speaker under the administration of Governor ESL Narasimhan on January 16. The next day, all MLAs will take oath under the administration of the pro-tem speaker.

Raja Singh has also appealed to CM KC Rao to take back the decision and send the right message to citizens of Telangana. He also added that he is exploring all legal options with experts. Raja Singh also hinted that AIMIM was against the separation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and KC Rao should not support such a party.

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi in 2016 had said that he will never chant Bharat Mata ki Jay, even if someone puts the knife on his throat. His younger brother, Akbarudin Owasi in 2012 had delivered a hate speech against Hindus and had said that Muslims will show 100 crore Hindus who is more powerful if police is withdrawn for just 15 minutes.

Owaisi has often claimed that the BJP is anti-Muslim. He had recently stirred up a controversy implying that the government does not hire Muslims for serving in the security forces. During the demonetisation in 2016, Owaisi had claimed that the BJP government in the centre is not providing enough cash in the ATMs located in Muslim dominated areas. In another controversial statement, MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi said that he would ask Telangana Chief Minister KC Rao to send BJP President Amit Shah some kalyani (beef) biryani.

Last year, Raja Singh had resigned as an MLA and party member to commit himself to Gauraksha. He has said that for him, Dharma and Gau-Raksha (cow protection) is more important than Politics. Raja Singh is currently an MLA-elect from Goshamahal Assembly constituency in Hyderabad. He is widely known in the region for his Hindutvawadi image.