The BJP's Pragya Thakur is a first-time MP from Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal
The Congress has started an online petition to urge the ruling BJP to expel Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur from parliament. The appeal, posted this evening on popular petition website change.org, comes amid widespread outrage over the BJP leader allegedly describing Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi's assassin, as a "deshbhakt (patriot)" during a discussion on the SPG Bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. In its petition the Congress said it was "appalling and poisonous... that Godse, the terrorist and murder of Mahatma Gandhi... has been outrageously endorsed... by BJP MP and terror accused Pragya Thakur".
The petition initially called for 500 signatures and reached that target in short order and, at the time of writing, had set a goal of 1,000 signatures.
On Thursday 2008 Malegaon blasts accused Pragya Thakur, a first-time parliamentarian, had interrupted DMK MP A Raja, who was speaking and had referred to a statement by Nathuram Godse explaining why he had killed Gandhi. At around this point Pragya Thakur interrupted Mr Raja with a comment about a "deshbhakt (patriot)" that provoked a furious reaction from the opposition.
The Congress, unmoved by Pragya Thakur's explanation, has launched its online appeal for 1,000 signatures. In a strongly-worded message the party said: "Only a terrorist can call another terrorist a 'deshbhakt' (patriot)".
"It is appalling and poisonous to the nation that Godse, the terrorist and murderer of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our Nation, has been outrageously endorsed time and time again by BJP MP and terror accused Pragya Thakur. This time in the parliament of India," the petition, which calls on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to take action, reads.
In response to Thursday's controversy Defence Minister Rajnath Singh went on record in parliament today to say: "Not just calling Godse a deshbhakt (patriot), but we condemn even such thinking". The Union Minister also removed her from a parliamentary consultative committee on defence and she has been barred from attending parliamentary meetings for the rest of the Winter Session.
Earlier today Pragya Thakur claimed her comment had been taken out of context.
The Bhopal MP was quoted by news agency ANI today as saying her comment "was not for Nathuram Godse... I interrupted him (DMK MP A Raja) when he named Udham Singh".
Earlier this year, when Pragya Thakur referred to Godse as a "patriot" during election rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared he would "never be able to forgive" his party colleague.