‘Godse a patriot’ line puts Pragya Thakur on EC radar again

NEW DELHI: BJP’s Bhopal candidate Pragya Singh Thakur is set to run into rough weather with the EC as Madhya Pradesh’s chief electoral officer has called for action against her for calling Nathuram Godse a “patriot.”
The EC had sought a factual report from the CEO on Thakur’s remarks terming Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse a “patriot.”

EC officials confirmed that the CEO in his report on Thursday evening said “Thakur has violated the model code of conduct by making unsavoury and insulting comments about the Father of the Nation that could create disharmony” during the election period.

The CEO report has recommended action against the BJP candidate as her comments can create “ill will among the people.”

The model code says: “Nobody should invoke, in any manner, religion or religious grounds…or any activities likely to create disharmony among different classes or groups of people in his campaign.”

Such activities/statements are prohibited offences under various provisions of the law, like Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951; sections 153A, 153B, 295A and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code and Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988.

The EC is expected to take a decision on the matter but has a tight window, with campaigning for the final phase of the elections ending on Friday evening.

“Nathuram Godse was a deshbhakt (patriot), he is and w i l l remain a deshbhakt. Those calling him a terrorist should instead look at themselves. They will be given a befitting reply in this election,” Thakur had said in a TV interview in response to Kamal Haasan’s remark that free India’s first terrorist was a Hindu.

The BJP distanced itself from her comments amid an uproar and even asked Thakur to issue an apology.

Thakur was earlier handed a 72-hour campaign ban by the EC for her comments on Babri demolition.

An FIR was also lodged against Thakur for her comments on the former Mumbai STF chief Hemant Karkare.