Sadhvi Pragya Removed From Key Panel After Anti-Mahatma Remark, Likely To be Expelled From BJP

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, the BJP lawmaker from Bhopal, was removed from the Parliamentary panel of defence on Thursday after her controversial anti-Mahatma Gandhi remark in the Lok Sabha. Sources have told News Nation that she will not be part of BJP Parliamentary party meet also. There are chances that Thakur may be expelled from the BJP following her statement. BJP’s working president JP Nadda also slammed Thakur for her remark. Distancing the party from Thakur’s statement in which she called Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse a ‘deshbhakt’, Nadda said that, “her statement yesterday in the parliament is condemnable. BJP never supports such statement or ideology.” Announcing party’s decision, Nadda said that, “We have decided that Pragya Singh Thakur will be removed from the consultative committee of defence, and in this session she will not be allowed to participate in the parliamentary party meetings.” Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh has given suspension of business under rule 267 in Rajya Sabha over BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur's reported reference to Nathuram Godse as 'deshbhakt', in Lok Sabha.

Malegaon terror attack accused Pragya Thakur on Wednesday referred to Mahatma Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse as a "deshbhakt" during a debate in Lok Sabha, triggering a protest by the Opposition members. When DMK member A Raja cited a statement of Godse on why he killed Mahatma Gandhi during a discussion on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, Thakur interrupted and said, "You cannot give example of a deshbhakt."

This is not the first time Thakur had made such a disastrous remark. Earlier, during the Lok Sabha election campaign, Thakur had said that Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse was a "true patriot" and those calling him a terrorist should look within themselves. The remarks hailing Godse had triggered a massive controversy with people and politicians slamming the 2006 Malegaon blast accused for insulting "Father Of The Nation".

Reacting to her remark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that although she has apologised, he will never be able to forgive her fromhis heart and his party had given her a 10-day time to explain the statement. BJP president Amit Shah had also said that a disciplinary committee will take necessary action against her. However, no action was taken against her by the BJP.

Soon after winning the Lok Sabha election from Bhopal, the terror accused BJP MP had created another controversy with her remark that she has not become a lawmaker to clean drains or toilets, a statement the Congress said exposed the "hollowness" of the BJP’s flagship 'Swachh Bharat' campaign. She had also claimed that the then Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who was martyered in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, lost his life due to her "curse".