BJP condemns Pragya's praise for Godse

The BJP on Thursday condemned its Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Pragya Singh Thakur's praise for Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as "patriot" and asked her to tender a public apology.

"We completely disagree with her statement with regard to Mahatma Gandhi. We strongly condemn this statement. The party will seek clarification from her as to why she gave this. It would be proper for her to seek and tender a public apology for her objectionable statement," BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said in a statement.

Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, ignited a fresh controversy Thursday by claiming that Godse "is and will remain a patriot".

Talking to a news channel in Madhya Pradesh, she 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."

Thakur said this in response to a question over actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan's remarks that free India's first extremist was a Hindu, a reference to Godse.

This is not the first time her extreme views have embarrassed the BJP after it fielded her from Bhopal against Congress leader Digvijay Singh, projecting her as a "victim" of the UPA government's "fake Hindu terror" theory.

She was earlier forced to apologise after claiming that IPS officer Hemant Karkare, who was killed by terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, died as she had cursed him after her arrest in Malegaon blast case.