Sangh Parivar's stormy petrel Pragya Thakur: Godse praise, Hemant Karkare remark to Bhopal giant-killer

Indian Express

2 days ago

A special court in Mumbai Thursday acquitted all the seven persons accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, including former BJP MP from Bhopal, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.
A resident of Madhya Pradesh, Pragya, 55, who started her political innings with the ABVP, the RSS' student wing, was the prime accused in the Malegaon case and the first person whom the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) had arrested.
A Sangh Parivar firebrand, Pragya has been no stranger to controversy, who has often made news due to her various moves and statements.
In December 2022, Pragya set off a major row after, referring to the murder of a Bajarang Dal activist in Shivamogga, she said at an event in Karnataka: 'Keep weapons in your homes. At least keep the knives used to cut vegetables sharp … Just like how knives cut the vegetables, it will also chop the mouth and heads.'
Thakur had run into trouble with her party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the past over her controversial remarks. In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, after the party fielded her from Bhopal against Congress heavyweight Digvijaya Singh despite being booked in the Malegaon case, Pragya compared Ashok Chakra awardee and former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare with Ravan and Kans and said he was killed during 26/11 Mumbai attacks because he was cursed for arresting her in connection with the Malegaon case. In a public meeting, Thakur said she had warned Karkare that he would be destroyed and that was exactly what happened.
While she was roundly criticised at the time — the Election Commission (EC) sent her a show-cause notice — the BJP distanced itself from her remarks and claimed it had always considered Karkare a martyr. 'The BJP considers him (Karkare) a martyr. This is Sadhvi Pragya's personal statement which she might have given because of the mental and physical torture she had faced,' the party statement said.
In a subsequent television interview, PM Modi alleged that the Congress had defamed a '5,000-old culture that believes in Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam'. He said, 'They called them terrorists. To answer them all, this is a symbol (fielding Thakur) and it will cost the Congress.'
Following the backlash over the Karkare remarks, Thakur withdraw her statement and apologised, saying she was doing so as she felt 'the enemies of the country were being benefited from it'.
A month later, Thakur triggered another political firestorm when she called Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse a 'desh bhakt'. She said, 'Nathuram Godse was a patriot, is a patriot, and will remain a patriot… those who call him a terrorist should look within… they will get a reply this election.'
As the party disowned the remarks, Modi also slammed Thakur. Responding to a query from the News24 TV channel, he said, 'The kind of remarks, statements made about Gandhiji and Godse is horribly wrong (bhayankar kharab). It is hateful, and these should be criticised and condemned in every which way. There is no place for such language, thinking in any civilised society. Those who do such things will have to think a hundred times in future. It's a different matter that she has apologised, I will not be able to forgive her from my heart.'
As leaders such as Anantkumar Hegde and Nalin Kumar Kateel also backed Thakur, then party president Amit Shah warned there would be 'action' against the leaders who commented on Godse. 'We have decided to issue show cause notices. Once their responses come, disciplinary committee will take a decision … The entire BJP is upset, that's why prompt action has been taken. Appropriate action will be taken.'
Thakur again made comments praising Godse in Parliament in November 2020. When DMK member A Raja, participating in a debate on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, cited Godse's statement on why he killed the Mahatma, Thakur interrupted and made a remark praising Godse. As the angry Opposition sought an apology from Thakur and BJP members were seen persuading her to sit down. The comment was expunged from the Lok Sabha records.
As the Opposition kept up the pressure, the party dropped Thakur from a parliamentary committee. Then BJP working president JP Nadda said, 'The statement given by MP Pragya Thakur is condemnable. BJP never supports such a statement and we do not support this ideology… We have decided that she will be removed from the consultative committee on defence, and will not be allowed to participate in the parliamentary party meetings this session.'
In April 2024, while stating that Pragya's absence was hampering court proceedings, a special court had directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to verify her health condition and submit a report.
Her controversial statements on Godse are believed to have cost Pragya a repeat ticket from her Bhopal Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 elections despite the fact that she had emerged as a giant-killer in the 2019 polls by defeating Digvijaya by 3.64 lakh votes.
Apart from the Godse row, BJP insiders had then said that Pragya was denied a ticket due to her lack of connect with voters and 'bad performance'. 'She refused to listen to most BJP leaders and was alienated from them. Ever since she won, she has been hardly seen in Bhopal. Her medical condition may have played a role, but her controversial statements ruined her chances,' a BJP leader had said.
The BJP had replaced her in Bhopal with Alok Sharma, a loyalist of ex-Madhya Pradesh chief minister and current Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who also won the seat.
Questioned by the media on denial of ticket to her, Pragya said: 'I have never made controversial remarks. I have always told the truth. But if any word of mine hurt our Prime Minister and made him say he will never forgive me, that was never my intention. I never did it again. The Congress abused him and maligned his office (over the remarks). They pulled off a political stunt.'