You are 'king of liars': Owaisi slams PM Modi over Sadhvi Pragya's nomination

Terror accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur’s nomination from Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal has sparked condemnation from Opposition parties. Even as the BJP prepares the Malegaon blast accused for epic battle in high-stake Lok Sabha Elections, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi has called it a rehabilitation programme by the ruling party. “A terror accused has been rehabilitated by BJP. The brazenness of must be astounding to outsiders; but we are discussing it like it is routine political strategy This is the BJP’s “zero tolerance” policy against terrorism,” Owaisi said on Twitter. Earlier, addressing a rally in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad, Owaisi also slammed the Prime minister over the issue.

 

A terror accused has been rehabilitated by BJP. The brazenness of must be astounding to outsiders; but we are discussing it like it is routine political strategy

This is the BJP’s “zero tolerance” policy against terrorism https://t.co/7U3awA6X0n

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) April 18, 2019

“PM of India you are the king of liars, you don't want to fight terrorism. If you wanted to fight terrorism, if you had class & sincerity then you would not have made a person with terrorism charges a candidate,” Owaisi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Soon after the BJP’s announcement, Thakur was quoted as saying, “Main bhagwa ko samman dila ke rahungi.”  Thakur is out on bail in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. The confusion over her legal truth came after Thakur got clean-chit by the National Investigation Agency in the case. Later, on April 27, 2017, Singh was granted bail by the Bombay High Court. She was cleared under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). But the biggest point is that she still faces terror trial in other case. She is still an accused named by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad. At present, her legal status is that she is out on bail and faces charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for terror activities, criminal conspiracy and murder. In simple words, as of today, Thakur is a terror accused. 

Owaisi is not the only leader who has blasted BJP over this unusual move. National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah also criticised the BJP and said that, “If Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, the BJP candidate from Bhopal and an accused in the Malegaon blast case, is fit to contest election, she is fit to be in jail.”

"We are getting to hear new things from the BJP every time. First, they tried to fight elections on Balakot and Pulwama (attacks). Then, they tried speaking about development and when people did not digest it, they tried the religion card," the National Conference leader said.

"They know that they will not get votes with 'mandir-masjid' (Ayodhya issue), so they gave the mandate from Bhopal to a person who is an accused in a terror case and is out on bail citing poor health," he said. "I hope the court which gave her bail cancels it as if she is fit enough to contest (election), she is fit to be in jail," he added.

(With PTI inputs)