SRINAGAR: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Thursday attacked Pragya Singh Thakur, the BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal, for terming Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, a "patriot".
"If the killer of the father of the nation is a patriot does that make Mahatma Gandhi anti-national?" Abdullah said in a tweet, though he did not name Thakur.
Earlier in the day, Thakur said, "Nathuram Godse was a desh bhakt (patriot) and will remain so. People calling him a terrorist should introspect. They will be given a befitting reply in these elections".
The Madhya Pradesh BJP, however, distanced itself from the statement. "The BJP does not agree with her statement. The party will talk to her (and ask) under which circumstances she gave the statement. One who killed Mahatma Gandhi can't be a deshbhakt," state BJP media cell in-charge Lokendra Parashar told PTI.