Pragya apologises twice, wants Rahul punished too

Strap: Oppn rejects Bhopal MP’s first conditional apology

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Stand by my statement: Rahul

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he stood by his remarks on Twitter terming BJP MP Pragya Thakur a “terrorist” and was ready to face any action. He claimed Thakur believes in violence, the way Nathuram Godse did. About BJP seeking action against him, Gandhi said, “That’s ok. There’s no problem. Whatever they want to do, I’ll welcome.” “Terrorist Pragya calls terrorist Godse, a patriot. A sad day, in the history of India’s Parliament,” Gandhi had tweeted. PTI

4 Hindu outfit men held over anti-Gandhi pamphlets

Gwalior: The police have arrested four Hindu Mahasabha activists for allegedly distributing pamphlets containing “objectionable” words about Mahatma Gandhi here in Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Friday. Mahasabha activists had observed the death anniversary of Godse at the outfit’s office here on November 15 and also performed ‘aarti’ of Godse and Narayan Apte, co-conspirator who was also hanged for Gandhi’s assassination. PTI

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 29

Confronted by an unrelenting Opposition, BJP’s controversial Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur today apologised twice in the Lok Sabha for “hailing” Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse in the House, but also submitted a privilege notice against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for calling her a “terrorist”.

The Opposition refused to accept her first conditional apology in which she targeted Rahul without naming him: “One member called me a terrorist, though I have not been convicted by the court…. It is an insult to a woman and a sadhvi.”

Pragya, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, said making such remarks was against the law too.

In her second apology, she said, “On November 27, during a discussion on the SPG (Amendment) Bill, I did not call Nathuram Godse a patriot (‘deshbhakt’). I did not even take his name. Still if someone is hurt, I regret and apologise.”

The statement followed after Speaker Om Birla’s meeting with floor leaders of all parties. Sources said BJP chief Amit Shah and working president JP Nadda also wanted the statement to be made before Pragya entered the House.

The Speaker said Pragya would read out the statement agreed upon at the meeting. But as she started, she referred to her “enemies”. She was cut short by the Speaker and told to stick to the statement. When she finished, she again tried to say something, but her mike had been turned off by then.

Pragya had sparked a major controversy on Wednesday with her remark in the lower house during DMK member A Raja’s narration of a statement by Godse before a court on why he killed Gandhi.

The BJP attempted damage-control on Thursday, sacking her from a panel on defence and barring her from its parliamentary party meetings during the ongoing session. Ally JD(U) wanted the matter to be sent to the ethics committee.

The Congress led the charge against her with Rahul accusing her of being a “terrorist”, claiming her comments represented the “heart and soul” of the saffron party and its ideological fountainhead RSS.

Pragya on Friday submitted a breach of privilege notice to the Speaker against Rahul for calling her a “terrorist” even though no court had convicted her. Official sources said the Lok Sabha secretariat will examine the merit of her complaint before recommending to the Speaker what action needed to be taken.

BJP member Nishikant Dubey also urged the Speaker to allow the privilege motion against Rahul for accusing a sitting MP of being a “terrorist”.

Earlier, the Congress, unsatisfied with Pragya’s apology, demanded her suspension from the House. Storming into the well, they shouted slogans like “Godse party down down” and “Mahatma Gandhi ki jai”.

Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said her remarks had hurt not only India, but the entire world as Mahatma Gandhi was a global icon.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Patel rejected his criticism against the BJP, referring to Rajnath Singh’s statement and the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reverence for Gandhi and his contributions.