Pragya Singh Thakur nominated to Parliamentary Panel on Defence

A controversy erupted after Malegaon blast accused and BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur was nominated to the parliamentary consultative committee of the Ministry of Defence.

According to the government notification dated October 21, the 21-member parliamentary consultative committee is headed by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The 21-member Parliamentary Consultative Committee also includes the likes of opposition leaders Farooq Abdullah, TMC's Sougata Roy, DMK's A. Raja and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections Thakur had courted controversy with her remarks on a number of occasions.

She had landed in a major controversy when she called Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, a patriot.

The BJP had issued a showcause notice to Pragya over the remarks.

Thakur had also stirred controversy by saying that then Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare had died during the 26/11 terror attack because of her "curse".

PM Modi said her comments were “detrimental to society”. “Whatever has been said about Gandhi or Godse, these kind of statements are very bad and worth contempt. In a cultured society, this type of language is not permissible… Though she has apologised, I won’t be able to pardon her with my heart,” he had said.

Bharatiya Janata Party had said that its disciplinary panel had issued Thakur a notice, but there has been no word on what – if any – action was taken against her. According to The Print, BJP’s disciplinary panel has been reluctant to take action against many of its leaders.

In Malegaon blasts case, Pragya was granted bail by the Bombay high court on health grounds in April 2017. In the September 2008 blasts near a mosque, six people were killed and over 100 injured.

The MP is currently under trial for multiple charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The NIA sought a blanket ban on media reporting on the case, but a special court rejected the application.

The twitter slammed goverment decision to appoint Thakur’s in the defence panel. Here are some tweets compiled for you:

with inputs from IANS