Pragya calls Godse 'deshbhakt' during LS debate

Bhopal, November 27

Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath on Wednesday asked the BJP to take action against its Lok Sabha MP Pragya Singh Thakur for referring to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse as a ‘deshbhakt’ during a debate in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, triggering a protest by Opposition members.

Even during the Lok Sabha election campaign, Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, had described Godse as a “patriot”, triggering a political storm and all-around condemnation with PM Narendra Modi saying he would never be able to forgive her fully. The Hindutva activist had then withdrawn the remark and issued an apology.

In a series of tweets, Nath asked the BJP to clarify its stand on the issue. “Modi ji had said that he will never forgive Bhopal’s BJP MP Pragya Thakur for terming Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse as a patriot. Modi ji should not forgive her for repeating this statement in the sacred temple of democracy, Parliament…The country now wants to know from the BJP whether it is with Gandhiji or with Godse.”

BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP from MP, Vivek Tankha, also criticised Thakur for her remark. “A person who assassinated Gandhi ji, the father of the nation, is being called a deshbakht by a LS MP in Parliament. The lady has shamed her party by such a statement,” she tweeted.

The state Congress demanded that Thakur’s Lok Sabha membership be annulled. PTI