Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that remarks made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Bhopal, Pragya Thakur, on Nathuram Godse reflect the ‘ heart of heart of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and BJP.’ “What she (Pragya Thakur) is saying, that is the heart of the RSS and BJP, what can I say? It cannot be hidden. I don't need to waste my time demanding action against that woman,” Gandhi told reporters outside the Parliament.
Later, he took to Twitter to term the remarks a sad day in the history of India’s parliament. "Terrorist Pragya calls terrorist Godse, a patriot. A sad day, in the history of India's Parliament," he tweeted.
Terrorist Pragya calls terrorist Godse, a patriot.
A sad day, in the history of
India’s Parliament.— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 28, 2019
Meanwhile, the BJP has cracked the whip on its serial-offender MP, who hailed Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse in Lok Sabha, and barred her from attending its parliamentary party meeting in the ongoing Parliament session and removed her from the consultative committee on defence.
BJP working president J P Nadda announced the disciplinary action against her and condemned the controversial Hindutva leader’s remarks in a bid to defuse the political crisis triggered by her remarks in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Nadda also said that Thakur will be removed from the consultative committee on defence, to which she was recently appointed.
“The statement given by MP Pragya Thakur is condemnable. BJP never supports such statement and we do not support this ideology. We have decided that Thakur will not attend meetings of BJP parliamentary party during the session,” he told reporters.
Thakur created a controversy on Wednesday with her remark in the Lower House during DMK member A Raja’s narration of a statement by Nathuram Godse before a court on why he killed Mahatma Gandhi.
During the general election campaign, she had described Godse as a patriot, triggering a huge political storm. Later, she had apologised for her statement. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the remarks made about Gandhiji or Nathuram Godse were very bad and very wrong for society. “She has sought an apology but I would never be able to forgive her fully,” he had said.
With PTI Inputs