Pragya Thakur's statement prompted a protest by the opposition (File)
Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday reacted sharply on BJP MP Pragya Thakur's reported remark in parliament in which she described Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as a patriot. The Congress leader, in a sarcastic tweet, asked what Prime Minister Narendra Modi thought about Godse.
"Today in parliament, a BJP MP called Godse a patriot. Now PM Modi, who celebrated Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary, is requested to reveal what he thinks about Godse? Mahatma Gandhi is immortal," she tweeted in Hindi.
The incident took place when DMK MP A Raja referred to Godse's statement on why he assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, during a debate on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill. Pragya Thakur interjected and reportedly said, "You cannot give example of a deshbhakt (patriot)."
The BJP leaders immediately intervened and asked her to sit down.
Pragya Thakur's remark prompted a protest by the opposition. Later the Lok Sabha Speaker said only Mr Raja's remark would go on record.
She later said her remark was not for Godse.
"This was not for Nathuram Godse. I interrupted him when he named Udham Singh (freedom fighter). Then the Speaker asked me to sit down and I obeyed. However, A Raja continued his speech and spoke about Nathuram Godse in the same way. I did not interrupt him then," she was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
The Congress called the remark an example of BJP's "hate politics".
"Repeatedly referring to Nathuram Godse as a "deshbhakt" is a perfect representation of BJP's deplorable hate politics. Will PM Modi condemn Pragya Thakur's remarks or continue to stay silent?" the party tweeted from its official handle.
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, in a scathing attack, called Pragya Thakur a "motormouth".
"This motormouth shall ensure the downfall of the BJP. Whatever the case might be, this is an extremely dangerous sign and has made a complete mockery of the Indian democracy and its founding fathers," he tweeted.
This is not the first time Pragya Thakur - a 2008 Malegaon blasts accused who won the election from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh - called Nathuram Godse a "deshbhakt". During campaigning for this year's Lok Sabha elections, she had spurred outrage and protests when, to a reporter's question, she said: "Nathuram Godse was a 'deshbhakt', is a 'deshbhakt' and will remain a 'deshbhakt'."