Congress submits complaint against Pragya Thakur for Godse remark
BHOPAL: Ruling Congress workers submitted a complaint to the Central Kotwali police in Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital Indore on Thursday, seeking registration of sedition and defamation case against Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur for her Wednesday remarks on Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse.
“Alleging that the Lok Sabha member from Bhopal constituency Pragya Singh Thakur had described Nathuram Godse as a deshbhakt (patriot) in the Lok Sabha, the Congress workers have submitted a complaint to us seeking lodging of sedition and defamation case against her u/s 124A and 499 of IPC,” Indore Central Kotwali police station in-charge BD Tripathi told The New Indian Express.
According to sources in Central Kotwali police, lodging a case against any MP for statements made by her on the floor of Parliament (that too when the remark has been expunged) doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of district police in Indore.
Thakur had triggered a controversy on Wednesday with her remark in the Lok Sabha during DMK member A Raja’s narration of a statement by Nathuram Godse before a court on why he killed Mahatma Gandhi. Her remark, however, was expunged by the LS Speaker.
In MP capital Bhopal, meanwhile, state Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza demanded that Thakur be disqualified as Lok Sabha member over her remark dubbing Godse as a deshbhakt (patriot).
In-state capital only, Congress legislator from Bhopal-Madhya seat Arif Masood sat on a dharna in Budhwara area, demanding that the BJP MP from Bhopal be disqualified as a member of the Parliament’s lower house.
He also demanded that the Centre should take steps to get Thakur’s bail cancelled in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, as she is completely healthy and has hurt sentiments of 125 crore Indians, besides harming the dignity of the Parliament.
BJP veteran demands action against Thakur
Demand for action against Thakur was not only confined to the Congress but also emanated from BJP.
Former Rajya Sabha member and senior BJP leader Raghunandan Sharma said, “This isn’t the first time, she (Thakur) has made such a remark. The party needs to take strict action against her. She is no longer a small leader, but is an elected MP, who needs to be extremely cautious while making statements,” said Sharma.