Facing opposition’s fury for calling Nathuram Godse a “patriot” on Wednesday, Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur on Friday apologised to Lok Sabha but also said that her “statements were misinterpreted”.

“If my statements have hurt anyone, then I would like to apologise. But I would also like to say that my statements were twisted and presented in another manner, and this is condemnable,” she told the Lower House.

Advertisement

Her statement was followed by protests by Opposition leaders who chanted slogans of ‘Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai, and ‘Down, down Godse’ in the House. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had posted a tweet on Thursday where he said “Terrorist Pragya calls terrorist Godse, a patriot.”

Terrorist Pragya calls terrorist Godse, a patriot.

A sad day, in the history of
India’s Parliament.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 28, 2019

“It is condemnable the way my remark has been attacked without finding out the details and the context. Mahatma Gandhi has contributed immensely to the nation and I have great respect for him. I apologise if I have hurt any sentiments. But the opposition is distorting my remark,” said Pragya Thakur.

“A member of the house referred to me as ‘terrorist’. It is an attack on my dignity as a member of parliament and also as a woman. No charges against me have been proven in court. I have been misquoted and victimised. It’s derogatory to call me a terrorist. It is illegal to call me a terrorist and whoever has done this directly insulting the judicial system,” she lashed out.

Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla appealed to the house to not politicise the matter as he said, “Not only this nation but the world follows the principles of Mahatma Gandhi. We shouldn’t politicise this issue. If we do, it’ll be before the world. So as I said, the remarks won’t be recorded. This House doesn’t permit to glorify the matter of assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, whether in this House or outside. Yesterday, the Defence Minister gave the clarification on behalf of the government. The MP (Pragya Singh Thakur) has apologised too.”

On Thursday Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had also condemned Thakur’s remarks saying, “The very soch (thinking) of Nathuram Godse being deshbhakt (patriot), should end,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in parliament.

नाथूराम गोडसे को देशभक्त कहे जाने की बात तो दूर हम उन्हें देशभक्त मानने की सोच को ही condemn करते हैं।

महात्मा गांधी हम लोगों के आदर्श हैं।वे पहले भी हमारे मार्गदर्शक थे और भविष्य में भी मार्गदर्शक रहेंगे।

उनकी विचारधारा उस समय भी प्रासंगिक थी, आज भी है और आगे भी रहेगी। pic.twitter.com/WH6y09VOVt

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) November 28, 2019

Her comments had sparked outrage, with the opposition in Lok Sabha condemning what it called the “BJP’s deplorable hate politics” and Speaker Om Birla expunging her remarks from the record. “We have decided that Pragya Singh Thakur will be removed from the consultative committee of defence, and in this session she will not be allowed to participate in BJP parliamentary party meetings,” said BJP’s working president JP Nadda.