NEW DELHI: On a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he can’t forgive her for terming Nathuram Godse a patriot, Pragya Singh Thakur was asked by the party to stay away from a road show on the last day of the Lok Sabha poll campaign Friday.
The Bhopal BJP candidate had reached Burhanpur to participate in the road show when she was asked her to “keep off” from the public.
As a result, the saffron-clad Thakur stayed put in her hotel room, the leader added. Thakur was unwell and so did not take part in the road show, another state BJP leader said.
On the last day of electioneering, the BJP was left red-faced with Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde and Karnataka MP Nalin Kumar Kateel echoing Thakur’s statement. BJP chief Amit Shah came down heavily against “loose cannons”, serving them with show-cause notices, with directions to respond within 10 days. “The disciplinary committee will look into their responses,” Shah said.
“Godse killed one, Kasab killed 72, Rajiv Gandhi killed 17,000. You judge who is more cruel in this??” Kateel tweeted, equating Godse with 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab, and Rajiv Gandhi.
The BJP also suspended Madhya Pradesh media head Anil Soumitra from primary membership for his social media post against Mahatma Gandhi, with the saffron outfit stating that his views have hurt the image of the party.
Meanwhile, a special court in Mumbai conducting trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case on Friday directed all the seven accused, including BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha candidate Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, to appear before it once a week.
Upset over the frequent absence of the accused during the trial, NIA court judge Vinod Padalkar gave this direction.
He also directed that exemption sought without cogent reasons will be rejected.