Pragya Thakur made to apologize after calling Godse a "patriot"

Guwahati, May 17, 2019:

BJP candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency Pragya Thakur has once again stoked the flames of controversy by claiming that Nathuram Godse, the fundamentalist who shot dead Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, on 30 January, 1948.

The BJP Bhopal Lok Sabha Candidate Pragya Singh Thakur said that 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 these (Lok Sabha) elections.

Many leaders were quick to condemn the statement and Pragya has been asked to apologize by the BJP party.

Opposition party leaders such as Puducherry's Congress Chief Minister V.Narayanasamy were quick to pounce on the throat of Pragya. Taking to Twitter, he wrote: "I strongly condemn the statement of Pragya Thakur, BJP candidate from Bhopal, for calling the assassin of our Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi as Patriot. This shows the violent mindset of BJP. she should tender unconditional apology."

Although Pragya was condemned by many, some even (somewhat shockingly) came to her defence, such as a BJP Parliamentarian from Karnataka called Nalin Kumar Kateel, a BJP MP from Karnataka. He compared Godse with former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, who has been a chief target of the ruling party in the national election campaign nearly 30 years after his assassination.

Nalin Kateel tweeted on Thursday, "Godse killed one, Kasab killed 72, Rajiv Gandhi killed 17,000. You judge who is more cruel in this??"

Finally, after much hue-and-cry over the controversial statement, Pragya was forced to "apologize" by the BJP party. Party members have also come forward to clarify that Pragya made the statement in a "personal capacity" and sought to distance themselves from the Bhopal candidate.

Pragya is not new to controversy as she is an accused in the Malegaon blast case. Moreover, she has also raised quite a few eyebrows with her controversial statements like claiming that gau mutra (bovine urine) cured her of cancer.