Mumbai: The Congress and NCP have demanded that Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur be sacked from the BJP. They have sought an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said that Thakur had been reading the script of the BJP. “The BJP, which sought a mandate from the people over the martyrdom of soldiers, actually disrespected the soldiers,” the Opposition claimed. NCP leader Jayant Patil said that the BJP and Shiv Sena sho-uld be ashamed of their statements. He said that while Mr Modi was seeking votes in the name of the martyrs, a BJP candidate was insulting them. It could be seen what kind of politics the BJP wanted to play in the country, he said.
Addressing a joint press conference on Friday, Mr Malik said that the BJP fielded from Bhopal ‘terrorist’ candidate, Thakur, who had carried out terrorist activities in Maharashtra and she was an accused in the Malegaon bomb blast.
“The investigation into the Malegaon bomb blast was carried out by brave, honest and uprig-ht officer Hemant Kark-are, whom she cursed. This was an unfortunate incident. The police for-ce was disappointed wi-th her statement in the state,” said Mr Malik.
The Bhopal candidate of the BJP had said, “I had told him (Mr Karkare) that you will be finished, and he was killed by terrorists in less than two months.”
Mr Patil said that the PM was seeking mandate in the name of martyrdom of soldiers and one of his party’s candidates was making fun of martyr Mr Karkare. “The BJP and the Sena should feel ashamed about this,” he said. Mr Patil claimed that the people of state would not tolerate disrespect of its martyr Mr Karkare.
Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said that Thakur’s statement had exposed the BJP’s farce of nationalism and patriotism. “Why did the BJP not feel ashamed while giving the candidature from Bhopal to Thakur who disrespected martyr Mr Karkare!” he said. He also asked why the Prime Minister was keeping mum over her statement.
Mr Sawant and Mr Malik also said that the BJP’s nominating Thakur from Bhopal also showed that the then special public prosecutor Rohini Salian’s claim that she was asked by a NIA official to “go slow” against the Malegaon blast accused was true. The Shiv Sena, BJP’s partner in the NDA, should make clear its position on the issue, Mr Sawant demanded.
Mr Thakur’s statement also seemed to have put the state BJP on the back foot. State BJP spokes-person Madhav Bhand-ari said that it was her personal stand and the party did not support it. “She has spoken about how she was jailed during the Congress rule, tortured in jail, and misbehaved with, being a woman,” he said.
