Indian politician from Modi’s party detained after prophet remark

This undated photo shows Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader T. Raja Singh. (Social media)
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Updated 23 August 2022
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Indian politician from Modi’s party detained after prophet remark

  • Detention of T. Raja Singh comes months after BJP suspended a spokesperson over remarks on Prophet Muhammad 
  • Hundreds of Muslims protested against Singh on Monday evening after the video appeared on social media

MUMBAI: Indian police detained a state lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party on Tuesday on suspicion of “promoting enmity in the name of religion” after Muslim groups demanded his arrest for his comments in a video about the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The detention of T. Raja Singh, a lawmaker in the southern state of Telangana, comes months after his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suspended a spokesperson for her remarks on the prophet that had led to a diplomatic backlash against India.

“He has been charged with promoting enmity in the name of religion,” Joel Davis, a senior police official in Hyderabad city, told Reuters.

“We have detained him and we will arrest him. This about the recent video that he posted.”

Singh could not be reached for comment.

The Hindu nationalist BJP would examine Singh’s remarks and take action if he was found to have violated its code, party spokesperson K Krishna Rao told the News18 channel.

Hundreds of Muslims protested against Singh on Monday evening after the video appeared on social media, footage from media showed.


Romanian president to attend Washington ‘Board of Peace’ meeting as observer

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Romanian president to attend Washington ‘Board of Peace’ meeting as observer

Bucharest — ROU
Bucharest, Feb 15, 2026 : Romanian President Nicusor Dan announced on Sunday that he would attend as observer the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace.”
“Next week I will take part in the first meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, responding to the invitation addressed by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump,” Dan wrote on X, after having recently said that his country was still considering whether to join the body, of which Trump is the chairman.
The board, originally intended to oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip after two years of the Israel-Hamas war, is set to have its first meeting on February 19 in Washington.
Its permanent members must pay $1 billion to join, which lead to criticisms that the board could become a “pay-to-play” version of the UN Security Council.
“Romania will have observer status and I will reaffirm our strong support for international peace efforts and our willingness to participate in the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip,” Dan added on X on Sunday.
Earlier this week, the Romanian president told reporters that Romania is interested in taking part in the Washington talks as the country “has traditional relations with both Israel and the Arab countries in the region,” adding that “the situation in Gaza is important for Europe.”
Since Trump launched his “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.
Some countries, including Croatia, France, Italy, New Zealand and Norway, have declined to join, while others like Romania have said they could only consider doing so if its charter were changed.
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