‘I respect Mahatma Gandhi’: Pragya Thakur apologises for her Godse remark

Thakur also alleged that her statement was distorted and she was dubbed a terrorist despite being acquitted by a court.

BJP MP Pragya Thakur on Friday tendered an apology in Lok Sabha for her comments calling Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse “a patriot”. Replying on her remarks, the Bhopal MP told the Parliament she respects “Mahatma Gandhi’s contribution to the nation,” reported news agency ANI.

Thakur also alleged that her statement was distorted and she was dubbed a terrorist despite being acquitted by a court.

“A member of the House referred to me as ‘terrorist’. It is an attack on my dignity. No charges against me have been proven in court,” she said.

The BJP lawmaker was alluding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who had yesterday attacked Thakur for her controversial statement. “Terrorist Pragya calls terrorist Godse, a patriot. A sad day, in the history of India’s Parliament,” Rahul Gandhi had said in a tweet.

Also Watch l ‘Deshbhakt’ Godse row: Congress leader threatens to burn Pragya Thakur alive

Pragya Thakur sparked a row after she referred to Godse during a debate on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla expunged her remarks from the House records but it did not help stop the barrage of criticism from political parties and on social media.

Om Birla, reiterating that the lawmaker’s statement on Godse will not be recorded, said “not only this nation but the world follows principles of Mahatma Gandhi. We shouldn’t politicise this issue.”