BHOPAL: On Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary on Wednesday, ruling Congress leaders put up a poster in Indore describing first-time BJP MP from Bhopal seat Pragya Singh Thakur as “Hinsa ki Pujarin (worshipper of violence). The poster also questioned when will the BJP oust Thakur from the party.
The poster was put up close to Gandhi statue at the Regal Square where senior Congress leaders, including ex-CM Digvijaya Singh, home minister Bala Bachchan and health minister Tulsi Silawat later addressed the Gandhi birth anniversary program.
A few hours before the program started the poster bearing pictures of state Congress secretary Vivek Khandelwal and Indore district party unit spokesperson Girish Joshi was put up near the Regal Square.
The poster bore pictures of Mahatma Gandhi described as “Ahinsa ke Pujari” (worshipper of non-violence) and Pragya Singh Thakur described as “Hinsa ki Pujarin” (worshipper of violence).
The poster read, “Godse ko manne waali party, kya kabhi Pragya Thakur ko Bhajapa se nikalegi. Gandhi Jayanti par dhakosala karne waale bhajpai jawab de. (Will the BJP that backs Godse ever oust Pragya Thakur from the party. BJP leaders indulging in cheating and drama on Gandhi Jayanti need to reply this question)."
After spotting the poster, authorities reversed it to avoid any untoward incidents.
Justifying the poster, the state Congress secretary Vivek Khandelwal said, the poster has been put up to remind the top BJP leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, about how the Bhopal MP praised Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as a patriot during the 2019 general election campaigning, but no action was taken against her.
The Lok Sabha member from Indore seat, Shankar Lalwani, however, termed the poster as an attempt by the Congress to divert attention from major public issues. “This exposes how the Congress plays petty politics. Our PM has clearly mentioned unhappiness over what Thakur said during poll campaigning after which she has been warned by the BJP not to repeat such statements,” said Lalwani.
During the 2019 general election campaign, Pragya Singh Thakur, the 2008 Malegaon blast accused and Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal constituency had praised Nathuram Godse as a 'deshbhakt' (patriot) while talking to journalists during a roadshow in Agar-Malwa district of West MP. Her statement had drawn a sharp reaction from PM Modi, who reportedly said he would never be able to forgive her for making such utterances.
But instead of taking any action against the saffron-clad leader, the BJP let her off with a warning.