Nathuram Godse remark: Sadhvi Pragya tenders second apology agreed upon by all parties

A mid opposition ruckus, BJP member Pragya Thakur on Friday made a fresh statement in Lok Sabha, apologising for her remarks on Nathuram Godse, even as she asserted that she never described Mahatma Gandhi's assassin as a patriot.

BJP MP Sadhavi Pragya Thakur on Friday tendered two apologies for calling Mahatama Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse a patriot as the first one was not accepted by the opposition.

"I want to say only what I do for the country. On November 27, during a discussion on SPG (Amendment) Bill, I did not call Nathuram Godse a patriot (desh bhakt), I did not even take his name. Still if someone is hurt, I express my regret and apologise," she said in Lok Sabha around 3.00 pm. Before she entered the House, Speaker Om Birla had said that Thakur would read out the statement agreed upon at the meeting of party leaders.

Thakur started her remarks referring to her enemies, but she was interrupted by the speaker. She then read out the fresh statement.

Sadhavi Pargya Thakur had on Wednesday interrupted D Raja's remarks in Lok Sabha when he was talking about why Godse killed Mahatma Gandhi during a discussion on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill and said, "You cannot give an example of a desh bhakt."

Her remarks created a political furore as Congress-led opposition demanded a strict action against the BJP MP and an explanation from PM Modi. By Thursday, she was benched from the defence panel, she had been recently put on.

As the Lok Sabha proceedings continued to be disrupted with demands of an apology from Sadhvi Pragya, the BJP MP on Friday morning tendered an apology on the floor of the House but maintained that she never called Godse a desh bhakt. "If my comments have hurt in any way, I regret and seek an apology. But, my comments in the House have been twisted and misrepresented," she said without taking Godse's name.

Thakur also said that she was dubbed as a terrorist by a sitting MP despite being acquitted by the court. "One member has publicly termed me as a terrorist, though I have not been convicted by the court ... it is an insult to a woman and a sadhvi," she said and added that making such remarks too was against the law.

Unsatisfied with Pragya Thakur’s apology, the Congress strongly protested in the House and shouted slogans and demanded suspension of the BJP MP from the House. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury asserted that Sadhvi Pragya Thakur should tender an unconditional and unqualified apology in the House which the entire country deserves.

Similar sentiments were echoed by other leaders of the opposition party with BSP MP Kunwar Danish Ali demanding that her remarks in which she tries to project herself as a victim while referring to the court case should also be expunged.

To end the impasses, the speaker called a meeting of floor leaders of all parties. The leaders unanimously approved a fresh apology from Sadhvi Pragya, which was then delivered on the floor of the House in the afternoon. The House then resumed normal business with members speaking on their Zero Hour references.

During the Lok Sabha election campaign, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, had kicked up a row by describing Godse as a "patriot". She later apologised for her comment.