Bhopal Election Officer, Collector Issue Notice to BJP Candidate Sadhvi Pragya Over Remark on 26/11 Martyr Hemant Karkare

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur is the BJP candidate from Bhopal for Lok Sabha Elections 2019. She had raked up a controversy on Friday by her remark on 26/11 Mumbai attacks martyr Hemant Karkare.

Bhopal: A day after Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur raked up a controversy with her remark against former Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack martyr Hemant Karkare, the Bhopal Election Officer and Collector on Saturday issued a notice to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the district for Lok Sabha Elections 2019, seeking an explanation from her within a day. (PM Modi on Sadhvi Pragya’s Nomination From Bhopal)

Addressing the media on Friday, Sadhvi had said, “Maine kaha tera (Mumbai ATS chief late Hemant Karkare) sarvanash hoga. Theek sava mahine mein sutak lagta hai. Jis din main gayi thi us din iske sutak lag gaya tha.Aur theek sava mahine mein jis din atankwadiyon ne isko maara, us din uska anth hua.” (Hemant Karkare falsely implicated me in Malegaon blasts and treated me very badly. I told him your entire clan will be erased. He died because of his karma,” Sadhvi said.)

However, later in the evening, she issued an apology. Taking a u-turn, the BJP leader had said, “I felt that the enemies of the country were being benefited from it, therefore I take back my statement and apologise for it, it was my personal pain.” She also added, “He (Hemant Karkare) died from the bullets of terrorists from the enemy country, he is certainly a martyr.” (Full coverage on Lok Sabha Elections)

Meanwhile, the BJP also distanced itself from her remark, saying, “BJP considers him a martyr. This is Sadhvi Pragya’s personal statement which she might have given because of the mental and physical torture she had faced.”

Furthermore, taking cognisance of her remark, the Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered an enquiry. Additionally, the IPS Association too registered their ‘strong condemnation’ against Sadhvi Pragya for her comments on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks martyr.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday had fielded Malegaon blast case accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in Lok Sabha elections from Bhopal against Congress heavyweight and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh. Out on bail, Thakur has been discharged by a court on charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the 2008 case but is still facing trial under other criminal provisions.