Raghavendra Pratap Singh, who once made his mark amidst sharp speeches and controversies, has once again resorted to such language which is giving rise to public anger and questions. His sentence given in a public meeting in a small village, “If we took two of ours, then you bring ten of them” not only set the social media on fire but is also creating a stir in the local politics and social environment. Let us know who Raghavendra is, how was his political journey and what could be the possible implications of this statement.
Raghavendra Pratap Singh was born on 1 April 1966 in Basti district. After completing his BA from Deen Dayal Upadhyay University, he came in contact with Yogi Adityanath in Gorakhpur and joined Hindu Yuva Vahini. His stature within the organization grew rapidly and he also got the post of state in-charge. Political association with Hindu Yuva Vahini gave him an image of intense activism and vocal leadership – which later came in handy in electoral politics.
In 2012, he got BJP ticket from Dumariyaganj in Siddharthnagar, but that time he did not get much success. The 2017 elections proved to be a turning point for him, this time he became MLA by defeating Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Syeda Khatoon by a margin of just 171 votes. However, he could not save his seat in 2022 and Syeda Khatoon made a comeback by defeating him. Thus, his electoral journey has been full of ups and downs, especially in an area where the voter structure is Muslim-dominated.
A statement given by Raghavendra during a public meeting organized in Dhankharpur village on 16 October went viral. In the video, he was seen saying: “They took away 2 girls from our community, you bring 10 girls from the Muslims… Less than 10 for 2 is not acceptable and whoever brings this, we will make arrangements for food, drink and job… Listen Muslims, we are not able to digest this and the revenge has to be something heavy.” The statement has sparked strong reactions and criticism on social media. Many people called it communal and dangerous, while some supporters called it an emotional reaction.
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Raghavendra did not express any remorse on his statement after the viral video. He termed it as part of a state of condolence over an incident and reiterated his point by saying, "Is it only the Hindu's responsibility to maintain communalism? Let them take away our daughters-in-law and let us continue to suffer." According to the facts, he had gone to speak on that incident and gave this statement in his response.
Raghavendra has always been known as an outspoken and firebrand leader. In his journey from Hindu Yuva Vahini to politics, his style has been traditional and sharp, due to which he never stayed away from the headlines for long. The 2017 victory gave him legislative status, but the 2022 defeat showed that the scale of political stability is not always balanced.
