Maharashtra CM should adopt Yogi model and use bulldozers to remove encroachments: T Raja Singh

Suspended BJP leader from Telangana, T Raja Singh, has said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should imitate his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath and demolish illegal encroachments on government lands using bulldozers.

Addressing a gathering in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, formerly Aurangabad, on Sunday Singh said Shinde should ensure that encroachments from forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj are removed and he should be known as "bulldozer Shinde".

He was addressing a morcha organised by Sakal Hindu Samaj in the city demanding a law against "love jihad".

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"The Maharashtra Chief Minister should follow the pattern set by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The encroachments on government lands should be identified and they should be removed by procuring 100 bulldozers," said Singh, an MLA from Hyderabad.

Singh also said the encroachments from the forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj should be removed just like the tomb of Afzal Khan at the Pratapgad fort in Satara district of Maharashtra.

"Shinde should also be known as bulldozer Eknath Shinde", he said.

Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena faction, shares power with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra.

Speaking about opposition from some quarters to the recent renaming of Aurangabad city in Maharashtra, Singh said, "Secular people say Muslims were members of Shivaji Maharaj's force. If that is so why do they oppose the renaming?"

Another speaker Suresh Chavanke said that people should not purchase anything from shops which have "Aurangabad" written on their boards, and they should be banned.

"Now the name of Aurangabad is changed, we should also change the character of this city," he said.

Maharashtra ministers Atul Save and Sandipan Bhumre were present on the dais at the event.

Singh is known for giving acerbic speeches against Muslims.

Recently, an offence was registered in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar against Singh after a video of his vitriolic speech targeting Muslims went viral on social media.

The MLA was also recently questioned by Latur police in Maharashtra over another provocative tirade of his, officials had said.

"Whoever speaks against Hindus, we will not spare them. In our Hindu Rashtra you won’t even get a loudspeaker to do what you do five times a day," Singh had said while addressing a public meeting in Rahta tehsil in Ahmednagar district.

Singh was also heard saying that if someone wants to beat "lande" (a derogatory reference to Muslims), he should join Bajrang Dal. He is also heard seeking the support of youth to make India a "Hindu Rashtra".