‘Can only pray for my country’: Kapil Sibal questions Modi’s silence on Pragya Thakur’s Godse remark

PTI, May 17, 2019, 2:50 PM IST

New Delhi: Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Friday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on BJP leader Sadhvi Pragya’s remarks describing Nathuram Godse as a “patriot”.

BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha candidate and Malegaon blast accused Thakur on Thursday lauded Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse as a “patriot”, sparking an outrage from the Opposition.

Under fire for her remarks, Thakur tendered an apology on Thursday night and said she respected Mahatma Gandhi as his work for the country cannot be forgotten.

Sibal tweeted, “When Sadhvi Pragya says: “Godse a Deshbakht” and Modi is silent with Vidyasagar’s statue a victim of the violent I can only pray for my country and hope that one day the silent majority will keep violence at bay”.

Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also condemned Thakur’s remarks and said Godse was inspired by RSS ideology.

“Godse was inspired by Sangh Pariwar’s ideology & so is Pragya. Former killed our Mahatma & the latter killed Mahatma’s children. Pragya who calls Godse a patriot is endorsed by @narendramodi Is this the sign of an attempt to proliferate Sangh’s hatred based ideology,” he tweeted.

Amid the raging controversy over Thakur’s remarks, another BJP leader, Nalin Kumar Kateel, a MP from Karnataka, compared Godse with former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on Thursday.

“Godse killed one, Kasab killed 72, Rajiv Gandhi killed 17,000. You judge who is more cruel in this??” – Kateel tweeted.