The BJP's Pragya Thakur is a first-time MP from Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal
Highlights
- Pragya Thakur said her comment in parliament was taken out of context
- She said made the remark when an MP named Udham Singh
- The leader was sharply criticised for her remark
BJP MP Pragya Thakur has claimed her description of Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi's assassin, as a "deshbhakt (patriot)" in parliament yesterday has been taken out of context by the opposition. The Bhopal MP was quoted by news agency ANI today as saying her comment "was not for Nathuram Godse... I interrupted him (DMK MP A Raja) when he named Udham Singh". Pragya Thakur, who was criticised after referring to Godse as a "patriot" while campaigning for national elections in April-May, was today removed from a parliamentary consultative committee on defence and barred from attending parliamentary meetings for the rest of the Winter Session.
Pragya Thakur, a first-time parliamentarian, made the comment in question during a discussion on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill. At the time the DMK's A Raja was speaking and referred to a statement by Godse on why he killed Mahatma Gandhi. At around this point Pragya Thakur interrupted Mr Raja with a comment that provoked a furious reaction from the opposition.
"The topic that was discussed was of security and A Raja spoke about 'deshbhakt' Udham Singh. He said Udham Singh nursed a grudge against General Dyer of Jallianwala Bagh massacre for 20 years before killing him. When Raja went on speaking, I interrupted to say he should not take a patriot's name - 'deshbhakto ka naam mat lijiye' (don't take the names of patriots)," she said.
"This was not for Nathuram Godse. I interrupted him (A Raja) when he named Udham Singh. Then Speaker asked me to sit 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 added.
Pragya Thakur also said it was painful "bracket patriots with terrorists".
This morning Defence Minister Rajnath Singh issued an emphatic statement that said: "Not just calling Godse a deshbhakt (patriot), but we condemn even such thinking".
The BJP leader tweeted a clarification on Thursday shortly after the controversy broke; she tweeted about a "storm of lies" in Hindi.
"Storm of lies becomes so big at times that even day appears to be night but the Sun does not lose its light. People should not be swayed by this storm. Truth is that I did not tolerate insult to Udham Singh yesterday," she said.
Earlier this year, when Pragya Thakur referred to Godse as a "patriot" during election rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared he would "never be able to forgive" his party colleague.
With input from ANI, PTI