Distancing not enough; BJP's nationalistic luminaries should spell their stand: Priyanka on Pragya's 'Godse a patriotic' remarks

Pragya Thakur kicked up a row as she called Godse a "patriot" but apologised for it hours later and withdrew her statement.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Photo | PTI)
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Thursday dared the BJP's "nationalistic luminaries" to spell out their stand on their Bhopal candidate Pragya Singh Thakur calling Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse a patriot and said merely distancing from her is not enough.

"Bapu's assassin a patriot? Hey Ram."

"Distancing yourself from your candidate is not enough. Nationalistic luminaries of the BJP, have the guts to spell out your stand," Priyanka tweeted.

Thakur kicked up a row as she called Godse a "patriot" but apologised for it hours later and withdrew her statement.

The BJP distanced itself from her statement saying it did not agree with her, as "Mahatma Gandhi's killer cannot be a patriot".

This is the second time in a month that Thakur has apologised for a controversial statement made by her.

Last month, she had stoked a controversy when she said that IPS officer Hemant Karkare had died during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as she had "cursed" him for torturing her.

She had apologised for the controversial remark later and also retracted that statement.

Talking to a news channel in Agar Malwa in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday afternoon, Thakur said, "Nathuram Godse was a 'deshbhakt' (patriot), he is and will remain a 'deshbhakt'. Those calling him a terrorist should instead look at themselves. They will be given a befitting reply in this election."

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com