Bhopal, July 31 Jaivardhan Singh, son of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, said on Thursday that using the terms like “Bhagwa Atankwad” is wrong, but there is no place for those who support Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse.
Former minister Jaivardhan Singh, who is MLA from his family bastion Raghogarh in Rajgarh district, made these remarks while responding to the acquittal of ex-BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and six others in the 17-year-old Malegaon blast case in Maharashtra, in which six people were killed in 2008.
"I personally believe that using the word 'Bhagwa' is completely wrong. I haven't read the court's judgment yet, but I would welcome the court's verdict," Jaivardhan Singh said.
He further stated that Pragya Singh Thakur may have been acquitted in the Malegaon blast case, but the people in a civilised society won't accept her because she supports Mahatma Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram Godse.
"Pragya Singh has praised Nathuram Godse several times at different occasions; therefore, even if she has been acquitted, we won't accept her, and no one in a civilised society will accept her," Jaivardhan added.
When reporters reminded him that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already warned Pragya Singh Thakur for her alleged derogatory remarks on Mahatma Gandhi, and she was denied a Lok Sabha ticket from Bhopal in 2024, Jaivardhan said, "Then I would urge BJP friends also to stop praying for her (Pragya Thakur)".
Notably, Pragya Singh Thakur had won the Lok Sabha from Bhopal in 2019 against Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh.
Digvijaya Singh was among those Congress leaders to use words like 'Bhagwa' Atankwad' and "RSS bomb-making factory" after the Malegaon blast had happened, and Thakur was arrested.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Bhopal, the BJP had then presented Digvijaya Singh as anti-Hindu for his words "Bhagwa Atankwad" and Pragya Singh Thakur, despite being an accused then had won the election.
In 2024, the BJP, however, sidelined Thakur for his relentless, controversial remarks on Mahatma Gandhi and replaced her with Alok Sharma.
Digvijaya Singh also chose to contest the Lok Sabha from his home district, Rajgarh, but he lost again.
The Mumbai court on Thursday acquitted all seven accused in the Malegaon blast case, including Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, citing a lack of sufficient evidence under charges filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Arms Act, and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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