New Delhi: Cracking down on serial-offender and terror accused MP Pragya Thakur, who hailed Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse as a ‘patriot’ in the Lok Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday barred her from attending its parliamentary party meeting in the ongoing session and removed her from the consultative committee on defence.
BJP working president J.P. Nadda announced the disciplinary action against her and condemned the controversial Hindutva leader’s remarks in a bid to defuse the political crisis triggered by her remarks in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Nadda also said that Thakur will be removed from the consultative committee on defence, to which she was recently appointed.
“The statement given by MP Pragya Thakur is condemnable. BJP never supports such statement and we do not support this ideology. We have decided that Thakur will not attend meetings of BJP parliamentary party during the session,” he told reporters.
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Thakur created a controversy on Wednesday with her remark in the Lower House during DMK member A. Raja’s narration of a statement by Nathuram Godse before a court on why he killed Mahatma Gandhi.
However, after opposition members protested against Thakur’s remarks, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said only the DMK leader’s speech during the discussion on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill will go on record.
Opposition parties attacked the government, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the prime minister’s “inaction” against her proves his latent support to “Godse’s sinister thought”.
Congress workers in Indore on Thursday, filed a sedition case against Pragya for her remarks on Godse, reported PTI.
The opposition party said Thakur’s remarks were a “perfect representation” of the BJP’s “deplorable hate politics”.
“We are very clear about it that we condemn her statement and we do not support this ideology,” Nadda, who was accompanied by parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi, said.
During the Lok Sabha election campaign too, Thakur had described Godse as a patriot, triggering a huge political storm.
Later, she had apologised for her statement.
Modi had said the remarks made about Gandhiji or Nathuram Godse were very bad and very wrong for society. “She has sought an apology but I would never be able to forgive her fully,” he had said.
“Nathuram Godse was a ‘deshbhakt’, he is and will remain a ‘deshbhakt’. Those calling him a terrorist should instead look at themselves. They will be given a befitting reply in this election,” the controversial leader had said while attending a roadshow.
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The BJP had immediately got into damage control and distanced itself from Thakur’s statement and asked her to tender a public apology. However, no official action was taken against her then.
It’s not only her statements on Godse that make Pragya Thakur controversial. She is an accused in the Malegaon blasts case. Thakur was granted bail by the Bombay high court on health grounds in April 2017. In the September 2008 blasts near a mosque, six people were killed and over 100 injured.
The MP is currently under trial for multiple charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The NIA sought a blanket ban on media reporting on the case, but a special court rejected the application.
(With PTI inputs)