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"I told him, 'You will be destroyed'. Forty-five days later, when terrorists killed him, sutak (mourning period) was over."
These were the words of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur – BJP's star candidate from Bhopal – for Hemant Karkare, the man who took bullets to the chest in the 26/11 terror attack of Mumbai, and attained martyrdom saving the city.
Pragya Thakur claims that she was wrongfully jailed and Karkare was trying to frame her in the Malegaon blast case – and then was gunned down by terrorists a few days later.
These comments come from a candidate of India’s ruling party, the BJP – a party which never leaves any opportunity to give lessons on nationalism to others.
First the BJP came out with a two-line statement, saying those were her personal views and she must have said it due to 'physical and mental torture'. And then, Pragya Thakur, takes her words back in a half-hearted apology.
Seriously? Pragya Thakur ji, this was not a passing remark that you made about Karkare, you spoke about him for a good three minutes. It was a carefully thought out, articulated statement.
The BJP was very vocal about its criticism of the Congress government after the 26/11 attacks.
The BJP took to streets when the then home minister of Maharashtra, RR Patil said, 'bade bade shehron mein aisi choti choti baatein hoti rehti hai'. The party took to the streets when the then CM of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh made a spectacle of the Taj Hotel by taking Ram Gopal Verma and son Ritesh Deshmukh with him.
Then why is the top brass of the ruling party silent on Sadhvi Pragya's comments? Where are all the leaders, who have proudly added the term Chowkidaar as a prefix to their names? Why are they quiet when one of their own has humiliated someone who was the 'real chowkidaar' of the nation? The silence is deafening, and it’s hypocritical.
While announcing her candidature from Bhopal, Shivraj Singh Chouhan described Sadhvi Pragya as someone who was 'born to keep the nation safe'.
Is this how she is going to keep India safe, by glorifying how she cursed a man who died while trying to save Mumbai? What is she going to do? Curse away corruption and terrorism?
Sadhvi Pragya is herself a prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case and is currently out on bail.
Many BJP leaders have described Thakur's arrest as a victim of a conspiracy to “defame Hindus”. In a campaign speech in Wardha a few days ago Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Hindus would never forgive the Congress for coining the term 'Hindu Terror'.
Dear prime minister, I wonder if Sadhvi Pragya's shraap to Hemant Karkare isn't terrorism enough for you.
Pakistan, Pakistan, Pakistan... Most of the speeches by you and your ministers mention Pakistan and blame the country for sparking unrest in India. The previous governments and your government has been working to get Hafiz Saeed, the prime accused in the 26/11 attacks, on the UN global terror list. And your leader cites 'Karma' while talking about Hemant Karkare?
On the night of 26 November 2008, Hemant Karkare left his home to never return. Hemant Karkare was awarded the Ashock Chakra, India’s highest military decoration in peace time. That is the man you have humiliated, Pragya Thakur.
Go to the streets of Mumbai today and I challenge you, that you won't find one Mumbaikar who endorses Pragya Thakur's comments. Her comments not only humiliate Karkare, but also the sentiments of all the Mumbaikars directly or indirectly affected by the attacks, who are trying to blot out the darkest chapter of their lives.
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