Nathuram Godse deshbakht the, hai, aur rahenge. Unko antakwadi kehne wale log swayam ke girebaan main jhank kar dekhe. Abke chunav main unhe jawab de diya jayega [Nathuram Godse was a patriot and will remain so. People calling him a terrorist should introspect. They will be given a befitting reply in these elections]
- Ms. Thakur
It should be a solace for us that there is at least one non-negotiable in Indian politics, that the political cost of the celebration of the murder of the Mahatma is formidably high! But now we would be told to let the matter rest as she has been chided even by her mentors.
An obvious problem with Pragya Singh’s candidacy is that she appears to have been chosen solely as a totemic representative of aggressive Hindutva nationalism. She was not prominent as a BJP member until she was named the candidate for Bhopal, where she will take on senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.
Two blasts at Malegaon (2006 and 2008), the Samjhauta Express bombing near Panipat (February 2007), the explosions at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad (May 2007) and the Ajmer Dargah (October 2007) were linked to a fringe Hindu group called ‘Abhinav Bharat’, but the NIA had neither the political backing nor the ability to obtain convictions as per various reports.
Pragya Singh Thakur or Sadhvi Pragya is an Indian Politician and spiritual guru and is an accused in the 2008 Malegaon terrorist bombings.
The verdict of the court is still pending, and she became associated with a national party which raised controversies. There are various MLA's and MP's who have serious allegations against them, but Pragya Singh Thakur raised more controversy.
She faced arrest for terror charges, but was granted bail on following the dropping of charges under the MCOCA section by the Special National Investigation Agency.
She is contesting as a BJP candidate in the 2019 General Elections of India from Bhopal constituency.
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She is currently under trial for multiple charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Why is she controversial?
She remains controversial due to her ‘being accused’ of ‘terrorist acts’. These terror charges have been framed under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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Though the verdict of the court has not arrived yet, that remains a controversial position again.
She is the prime accused and principal conspirator behind the September 2008 blast at Malegaon, in which six persons were killed.
Hindutva Nationalism and Pragya Singh Thakur
An obvious problem with Pragya Singh’s candidacy is that she appears to have been chosen solely as a totemic representative of aggressive Hindutva nationalism. She was not prominent as a BJP member until she was named the candidate for Bhopal, where she will take on senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.
She is not only one accused, there are various leaders which are corrupt and have criminal charges against them, however the concern is that that ‘planting a bomb’ and targeting a particular community remain a heinous act.
What happened in Malegaon?
Two blasts at Malegaon (2006 and 2008), the Samjhauta Express bombing near Panipat (February 2007), the explosions at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad (May 2007) and the Ajmer Dargah (October 2007) were linked to a fringe Hindu group called ‘Abhinav Bharat’, but the NIA had neither the political backing nor the ability to obtain convictions as per various reports.
Ms. Singh even put serious allegations against the chief of the Mumbai Police Anti Terrorist Squad – Hemant Karkare. Regretfully, Hemant Karkare was martyred in the 26/11 attack.
Should she fight the election?
Election law does not bar one facing criminal charges from contesting, except those convicted of specified classes of offences, or those that entail a sentence of at least two years.
If the mere pendency of a case was made a ground for disqualification, a vindictive regime could get any political opponent disqualified by merely slapping a criminal charge. That will further reduce the democracy.
Thought, there should be change in laws that ‘terror charges’ are severe and either there should be a speedy trial procedure, or people should not be allowed to contest in elections until they clear their name. Especially political parties themselves can come to a consensus that ‘a controversial candidate’ should not be allowed to participate until the justice is done.
It may be difficult to get enough lawmakers to agree to this significant change, but it can be a principle political parties adopt on their own.
There have been instances of Union Ministers resigning from office as soon as charges were framed against them. There is no harm in extending this norm to the selection of candidates and let the democracy be cleaner.
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