Pragya Thakur hails ‘patriot’ Godse, retracts after BJP criticism

BHOPAL/INDORE: BJP Bhopal candidate Pragya Thakur courted fresh controversy on Thursday when she declared that Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse was a “deshbhakt (patriot)”, leading to the Election Commission (EC) seeking a report from the Madhya Pradesh chief electoral officer.
The sadhvi, who is an accused in the Malegaon bombing case, was responding to the media seeking her reaction to actor-politician Kamal Haasan’s comment that Godse was free India’s first Hindu terrorist.Her comments on Godse immediately set off a political storm with Congress claiming BJP had fostered a culture of violence and was denigrating freedom struggle icons.
Pragya has been in the midst of controversies ever since BJP nominated her against Congress’s Digvijay Singh. She called Mumbai cop and 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare a traitor and claiming to have “cursed” him a month before he was shot dead by terrorists. She then said she was “very proud” of her role in the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.
The furore over her latest remarks saw BJP condemning her statement and asking her to apologise and it was late evening when she did so, saying that “the party’s line is my line”.

After her remarks on Karkare, Thakur was banned from campaigning for three days by the Election Commission. BJP leaders warned her to watch her words, and she kept quiet until the Bhopal polls were over.
Now unleashed in Malwa-Nimar region to campaign for BJP, a senior leader was watching over her when a local reporter asked her in Dewas about Kamal Haasan’s remark that Godse was the “first Hindu terrorist”.
“Nathuram Godse was a ‘deshbhakt’ (patriot), is a ‘deshbhakt’ and will remain a ‘deshbhakt’. People calling him a terrorist should instead look within. Such people will be given a befitting reply in this election,” Thakur said with a flourish.
Digvijaya Singh, who is also campaigning in the region, said Thakur’s statement was “deshdroh” (treason). “Nathuram Godse was Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin. Pragya Thakur’s statement is treachery,” he said in Unhel town of Ujjain. “This kind of patriotism has become the identity of BJP. Glorification of Nathuram Godse is sedition. BJP leaders are glorifying Godse. This is the kind of sedition that can only be perpetrated by BJP.”
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted, “Bapu’s assassin a patriot? Hey Ram! Distancing yourself from your candidate is not enough. Nationalistic luminaries of BJP, have the guts to spell out your stand.”

Urging voters to “teach Bapu’s murderers a lesson”, the MP unit of Congress tweeted, “BJP has removed its mask. Thankfully, the last phase of voting is yet to be completed or else people would not have been able to give them a reply.”
State BJP spokesperson Hitesh Vajpayee said, “Sadhvi Pragya’s statement cannot be justified. She has apologised for her remark but Congress should also ask Digvijay Singh to apologise for showing his love for Zakir Naik and terrorist Azhar Masood.”
This is third time in a month that Thakur has triggered outrage with her remarks. A day after being named the Bhopal candidate, she claimed to have “cursed” Karkare a month before he was shot dead by Pakistani terrorists. Hit by an EC notice and chastised by BJP, she apologised.
Three days later, she again sparked controversy by boasting that she helped demolish Babri Masjid and was “very proud of it”. Deeply embarrassed, BJP warned her to remain silent on controversial issues. The EC handed her another notice and then filed an FIR when her explanation was not satisfactory.
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