Pragya Thakur tags Nathuram Godse as patriot, sparks outrage

New Delhi : Nathuram Godse, the man who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, has been tagged as a patriot by Pragya Thakur, sparking outrage from several leaders.

“Nathuram Godse was a patriot, is a patriot and will remain a patriot. People calling him a terrorist should look within. Such people will be given a befitting reply in these elections,” Pragya Thakur told news agency ANI.

She was asked to share her response to Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan’s recent speech where he had described Godse as ‘India’s first extremist’.

She was earlier banned from campaigning in the Lok Sabha Election 2019 for her hate comments against the former chief of Mumbai’s anti-terrorism squad Hemant Karkare and the Babri Masjid.

Nathuram Godse, a right-wing activist, had assassinated Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948. Eight men were convicted in the murder trial inside Red Fort by a special court, constituted by an order of the central government. Godse and co-conspirator Narayan Apte were hanged for the murder of the Father of the Nation on November 15, 1949.

Pragya Thakur's nomination in the Lok Sabha Election 2019 was also slammed by the Opposition with Congress terming it as an effort to polarise the national elections.