Taking exception to the remarks by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in support of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, party chief Amit Shah has asked them for an explanation within 10 days, saying they will face the disciplinary committee.
The BJP has been put in a tight spot since its Bhopal pick Pragya Thakur called Godse a patriot, fuelling an all-out attack by the Opposition. Even as the party was trying to contain the damage, two more leaders — Union minister Ananthkumar Hegde and Nalin Kumar Kateel — tweeted in support of Godse just before the last round of voting for the national election on Sunday.
Kateel sparked a row when he compared Godse to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, saying “Godse killed one, Kasab killed 72, Rajiv Gandhi killed 17,000. You judge who is more cruel in this??”
His colleague Hegde, known for his controversial remarks, added to the chorus with a tweet that read: "Am glad that 7 decades later today's generation debates in a changed perceptional environment and gives good scope for the condemned to be heard upon. #NathuramGodse would have finally felt happy with this debate!"
As he faced flak for his remark, the minister deleted the tweet and posted: "My Twitter account has been breached twice in the past one week and certain tweets have been posted on my timeline which has been discarded and deleted. Regret the posts attributed to me."
In an effort to contain the controversy, Shah said on Friday: “Statements of Ananthkumar Hegde, Pragya Thakur and Nalin Kateel are their personal opinion. The BJP has nothing to do with it. They have withdrawn their statements and apologised. The BJP has taken their statements seriously and sent them to the disciplinary committee. The committee will seek explanation from all the three leaders and submit the report to the party within 10 days.”
Comments
0 comment