Adhir Ranjan on Pragya Thakur's controversial remark: This is about dignity of House and country

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday linked BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur's now expunged remark about Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse to the "dignity of House and the country".

"This is about the dignity of the House and of the nation. When the assassin of Gandhiji is referred as "deshbhakt", that too inside the House, then it becomes a question about the dignity of the House as well as the country," Chowdhury said while speaking to reporters outside Parliament.

The Congress leader urged the government to take stern action against Pragya.

"Keeping these things in mind, the government should take stern action from its side, and since it is also related to Parliament, so we demand that Speaker too should take some decision. We demand that she (Pragya Singh Thakur) should apologise," he said.

Chowdhury said there is a difference between saying and deeds of the government.

"Our Prime Minister said he will not forgive, then too, she is daring to say that she said nothing. We also asked in the House, that ruling party should say if it is Nathuram Godsepanthi or Mahatama Gandhipanthi," said the Congress leader.

The MP from Bhopal had triggered uproar during a discussion in the Lower House on Wednesday when she interjected DMK leader A Raja's speech during a discussion on Special Protection Group (Amendment ) Bill and praised Mahatma Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram Godse.

However, later on, she claimed that she was referring to Udham Singh. Speaker Om Birla expunged Thakur's remark from the record but opposition members protested outside the House.

Thakur was later barred from attending all Parliamentary Party meetings for the rest of the winter season by the BJP.

As many as 50 Members of Parliament (MPs) including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Dayanidhi Maran, Manicka Tagore, and NK Premachandran have given a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to censure BJP MP Pragya Thakur for "insulting Mahatma Gandhi."

Earlier this year, she described Godse as a 'patriot' and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made it clear that such statements would not be tolerated by the party.

(ANI)

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