‘Mahatma Would Have Forgiven Pragya’: Grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Speaking to The Quint, Gopalkrishna Gandhi said Mahatma would have liked to say – “May God forgive her.”

Gopalkrishna Gandhi has served in the capacities of an administrator, diplomat and governor.

(Photo altered by The Quint)

Former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Friday, 17 May, said that his grandfather Mahatma Gandhi would have forgiven BJP leader Pragya Singh Thakur for hailing his assassin Nathuram Godse as “deshbhakt.”

Speaking to The Quint, Gandhi said Mahatma would have liked to say – “May God forgive her.”

“She has apologised whole-heartedly and honestly. That having happened, we should accept her apology and treat the matter as closed. I would just add that Mahatma Gandhi would have liked us to say – May God forgive her.”

Gopalkrishna Gandhi to The Quint

The BJP's Bhopal Lok Sabha candidate and Malegaon blast accused Thakur courted controversy on Thursday, 16 May, lauding Godse as a "patriot".

“Nathuram Godse was a ‘deshbhakt’, is a ‘deshbhakt’ and will remain a ‘deshbhakt’. People calling him a terrorist should instead look within, such people will be given a befitting reply in these elections.”

Pragya Singh Thakur, BJP’s Bhopal Candidate

After her party condemned her statement and demanded that she issue a public apology, Singh issued a statement saying she respected Gandhi and his work for the country cannot be forgotten.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed Singh for her remark, stating that he would never forgive her.

“She has apologised. That is a different thing. But in my heart, I cannot forgive her,” said Modi, speaking to News24.