Cong’s show of admiration for Ambedkar nothing but drama: BJP
The BJP on Monday accused the Congress of invoking Bharat Ratna Bhimrao Ambedkar's legacy for its political purposes.
Retired assistant commissioner of police, Riyaz Deshmukh, on Wednesday, filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Bhopal against Pragya Singh Thakur, the BJP candidate who is an accused in the Malegaon blast case and is currently out on bail.
Deshmukh, a resident of Aurangabad (Maharashtra), said that he was deeply upset over the hurtful comments made by Pragya Singh Thakur against the slain Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare and that is why he decided to contest against Thakur.
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“When she (Pragya Singh Thakur) called Hemant Karkare ‘deshdrohi’, at that moment I decided I’ll contest against her. Karkare Sahab was my guru (mentor).
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“On the one hand the party (BJP) asks for votes in the name of martyrs, on the other hand, one of their LS candidates insults a martyr. Public knows it all. BJP has failed on all their promises,” said Deshmukh according to news agency ANI.
Pragya Thakur had claimed that Hemant Karkare, the former Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) chief, died because she had cursed him. Karkare died in action while fighting terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008. Karkare was also probing the Malegaon case. Thakur said he had treated her “very badly” and died because of his “karma”.
“I told him, you will be ruined. And you won’t believe me, he died in less than one and a half months,” she said.
Karkare, along with two more senior police officers Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar, was killed outside Cama Hospital in Mumbai after terrorists including Ajmal Kasab, opened fire at their police van on November 26, 2008.
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