The nomination of Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, the Member of Parliament (MP) of Bhopal, to the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Defence caused controversy.
On the 21st of November, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominated the Malegaon bomb blast accused Pragya Thakur as one of the members of the Defence Committee. Headed by Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister of India, the Parliamentary Consultative Committee would have 21 members, including Pragya Thakur.
Pragya Thakur is one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case which killed 6 Muslims and left several injured. Though the trial of the case is still going on, Pragya was granted bail on grounds of poor health.
This is not the first time the BJP faced criticism for nominating Pragya Thakur. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, many political leaders and citizens of India criticised the BJP as it nominated Pragya as the MP candidate from Bhopal.
However, the BJP justified the action as ‘satyagraha’ to fight false terror cases against innocent individuals.
Pranav Jha, the Secretary of the Indian National Congress (INC,) addressed the media and said the appointment of Ms. Thakur is not a good step for democracy. He also urged the BJP to rethink its decision and cancel her appointment.
Mr. Jha said, “Bringing such people, against whom the cases are going in court is not good for democracy. Everything is not guided by the Constitution but some decisions are taken on moral grounds too.”
Pragya Thakur is also facing several other charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act.
The INC lashed out at the BJP and said the appointment of Ms. Thakur is “an insult to our Nation’s defence forces.”
Twitter users also shared their opinions, with #ModiHaiToMumkinHai and #PragyaThakur being used frequently.
Shocked to see BJP MP & Malegaon blasts case accused #PragyaThakur being nominated to the parliamentary consultative committee on defence!
Just unacceptable!
She would’ve been such an ideal fit for the parliamentary consultative committee on cancer cure🐮
–https://t.co/vockfYizMr pic.twitter.com/Qnn7GHAZPd— Akash Banerjee (@TheDeshBhakt) November 21, 2019
#PragyaThakur, once accused in a terrorist attack, gets nominated to Parliamentary Panel on Defence. This is how BJP rewards someone who PM #Modi had said he would never forgive for insulting Mahatma Gandhi!https://t.co/WsUzU7wcKs
— Shama Mohamed (@drshamamohd) November 21, 2019
Few Months back PM said “he can never forgive #PragyaThakur for her remarks but today she is rewarded with appointment on Parliamentary Committee on Defence -Message is Clear -It’s Acche Din for Nathuram Godse Bhakts
— Jaiveer Shergill (@JaiveerShergill) November 21, 2019
Pragya Thakur, —A terror accused & Godse fanatic has been nominated by the BJP govt. to be a member of the Parliamentary Panel on Defence. This move is an insult to our nation’s defence forces, to our nation’s esteemed parliamentarians & to every Indian.#PragyaThakur pic.twitter.com/UnbYvsxsb8
— Mohammad Shahid (شاہد) (@mdshahid_iyc) November 21, 2019
