Pune, March 14: Suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and MLA T. Raja Singh has said India will be declared as "akhand Hindu rashtra" by 2026.

Addressing a programme organised by Hindutva bodies at Rahata in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra recently, Singh said the names of Ahmednagar and Hyderabad (capital of Telangana) cities will be changed to Ahilyabainagar and Bhagyanagar, respectively.

"Hindus are demanding the country be made an 'Akhand Hindu Rashtra'. If there can be more than 50 Islamic countries and more than 150 Christian nations, why can't India be declared a Hindu Rashtra given that Hindus constitute a majority of its 100 million people?"

"Come what may, in 2025 and 2026, India will be declared as 'Akhand Hindu Rashtra'. I am not saying this, this is the roar of all sadhus and sants and it is their prophecy," said Singh, who represents the Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad, amid cheers by the crowd. He said renaming Aurangabad and Osmanabad cities in Maharashtra is just the beginning.

Notably, the Union government recently approved the renaming of Aurangabad city as 'Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar' and that of Osmanabad city as 'Dharashiv'. "Some people are pained by the renaming of Aurangabad and Osmanabad cities. I would like to tell these people this is just the beginning as the renaming of Ahmednagar will also happen. It will be renamed as Ahilyabainagar and the name, Ahmednagar, will be erased," he said, adding that Hyderabad will also be renamed as Bhagyanagar.

In an apparent dig at AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jalil who has been opposing the renaming of Aurangabad city, Singh said some people say they were born in Aurangabad and they will die in Aurangabad. Prophet Remark Row: BJP Suspends Telangana MLA Raja Singh for Remarks Against Prophet Muhammad.

"I would like to tell them that even if you were born in Aurangabad, you will have to die in Sambhajinagar. You will die in Hindu Rashtra. Come what may, the (new) name will not be changed as Hindus have risen," he added.