BJP removes Pragya from defence panel

Strap: Bars her from meetings too, Oppn moves censure motion

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Quotes

Godse not patriot

“Far from talking about Godse being called a patriot, we condemn the idea of treating him as a patriot. Gandhi’s philosophy will always remain relevant and he continues to be a guide to the nation” Rajnath Singh, defence minister

She’s a terrorist

“Terrorist Pragya calls terrorist Godse a patriot. A sad day in the history of India’s Parliament” Rahul Gandhi, cong mp

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 28

As Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur’s Godse remark in Lok Sabha snowballed into a major controversy, the BJP today barred her from attending its parliamentary party meeting and removed her from the consultative committee on defence even as the Opposition sharpened its attack on the government.

Announcing the disciplinary action, BJP working president JP Nadda said, “The statement given by MP Pragya Thakur is condemnable. The BJP never supports such a statement and we do not support this ideology.”

Pragya, for her part, tried to duck the storm insisting her remarks were against an “insult” to revolutionary Udham Singh. “A storm of lies becomes so big at times that even day appears to be night, but the sun does not lose its light. The people should not be swayed by this storm. The truth is that I did not tolerate insult to Udham Singh yesterday,” she said after the saffron party acted against her.

The controversy had started yesterday when DMK member A Raja, during a discussion on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, cited a statement by Nathuram Godse on why he killed Mahatma Gandhi. Pragya interrupted and said, “You cannot give example of a ‘deshbhakt’ (patriot).”

As the Opposition raised the ante against the government in the Lok Sabha today, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said his party condemned any philosophy that described Gandhi’s killer a patriot.

Speaker Om Birla also tried to pacify the agitating Opposition members, saying he had already expunged the remarks. owever, targeting the government, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Opposition parties alleged that “inaction” against her proved his latent support to “Godse’s sinister thought”.

Calling her remarks a “perfect representation” of the BJP’s “deplorable hate politics”, they walked out in protest.

The Congress and other UPA members, meanwhile, signed a notice for the censure motion against Pragya and submitted it to the Speaker. The motion sought an apology from Pragya or her withdrawal from the House until she regretted what she said during the debate. “Such remarks scandalise the dignity of the House and deserve our severest censure,” read the motion.

During the Lok Sabha election campaign, Thakur had described Godse a “patriot”, triggering a huge political storm and forcing PM Modi to admit publicly: “I will never be able to forgive Pragya Thakur for insulting Mahatma Gandhi.” Later, she had apologised for her statement.