Godse remarks: BJP seeks explanation from Pragya, Hegde, Kateel

Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah said on Friday that statements of Union minister Ananthkumar Hegde, party MP Nalin Kateel and party Lok Sabha candidate Pragya Thakur on Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse are their personal opinion and the BJP has nothing to do with it.

However, Shah said the BJP has 'taken their statements seriously and sent these statements to the disciplinary committee'.

"The disciplinary committee will seek explanation from all the three leaders and will submit the report to the party within 10 days," Shah said.

Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde on Friday came out in support of Pragya Thakur's statement calling Godse a 'patriot', notwithstanding the BJP's condemnation of the latter.

'Am glad that 7 decades later today's generation debates in a changed perceptional environment and gives good scope for the condemned to be heard upon. #NathuramGodse would have finally felt happy with this debate,' the minister had tweeted.

However, with his remarks attracting attention, he later deleted the tweet.

'My Twitter account has been breached twice in the past one week and certain tweets have been posted on my timeline which has been discarded and deleted. Regret the posts attributed to me,' he said in a fresh tweet.

Amid the raging controversy over Thakur's remarks, another BJP leader, Nalin Kumar Kateel, a MP from Karnataka, compared Godse with former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on Thursday.

'Godse killed one, Kasab killed 72, Rajiv Gandhi killed 17,000. You judge who is more cruel in this??' Kateel tweeted.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer on Friday submitted a report to the Election Commission over the statement of Pragya Singh Thakur.

The state election officials have forwarded a report to the EC in this regard, MP CEO V L Kanthrao said.

Asked about details of the report, he said, We will share them after the EC takes a decision in this regard.

Earlier in the day, the District Election Officer of the Agar Malwa district submitted his report to the CEO in the matter of Pragya Singh Thakur's statement on Godse.

The poll panel had taken cognisance of Pragya's remarks describing Mahatma Gandhi's assassin as a 'patriot' on Thursday after a host of political parties condemned her remark.

Pragya has apologised for her comment and retracted the statement.

"It was my personal opinion remark. My intention was not to hurt anyones sentiments. If Ive hurt anyone I do apologise. What Gandhi Ji has done for the country cannot be forgotten. My statement has been twisted by the media," Pragya, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, said.

She also tweeted her apology.

Earlier this month, the EC had barred Pragya from campaigning for three days for violating the Model Code of Conduct by stirring up communal feelings. The poll watchdog had said in its order that the decision came in light of her comments against slain IPS officer Hemant Karkare and on the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Friday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on Pragya's remarks.

In a tweet, Sibal said, 'When Sadhvi Pragya says: 'Godse a Deshbakht' and Modi is silent with Vidyasagar's statue a victim of the violent I can only pray for my country and hope that one day the silent majority will keep violence at bay.'

Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also condemned Thakur's remarks and said Godse was inspired by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideology.

'Godse was inspired by Sangh Pariwar's ideology & so is Pragya. Former killed our Mahatma & the latter killed Mahatma's children. Pragya who calls Godse a patriot is endorsed by @narendramodi Is this the sign of an attempt to proliferate Sangh's hatred based ideology,' he tweeted.

With ANI inputs