Bhopal: Named as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Bhopal, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has announced that she would work to restore the glory of ‘bhagwa’ (saffron) and expose those who framed her fraudulently in terror cases.
On being asked about the charges in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, the 46-year-old said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had given her a clean chit as whatever conspiracy hatched against her had failed, while whatever cases remained would continue.
When told about Congress leader and her opponent in the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat Digvijaya Singh’s tweet in which the latter has welcomed Thakur to the picturesque city, the BJP candidate said it was good as both the candidates were fighters in the electoral battle, adding only dharma would win.
Asked about how strong she deemed Singh as her competitor, Thakur said that the one who remained on the path of ‘adharma’ could never be strong enough as he possessed no morality, truth or dharma. “He is no challenge for me,” she added.
The sadhvi, however, accepted that whatever the Congress veteran had done to malign Hindutva by linking ‘bhagwa’ with terrorism (saffron terror) was an issue for her and she would work to clear the stains from the same.
“I will expose the manner in which he violated constitutional provisions to frame me and harass me unlawfully. I would expose the amount of respect he (Singh) has and how much respect the Congress has for women,” she said.
The BJP has repeated accused Singh of using the term ‘Hindu terror’, an accusation that Singh has refuted several times, especially after returning to active politics last year.
Confident of victory, Thakur claimed she would also expose the manner she was harassed despite being a sanyasin (ascetic).
“I will work to make the country safe and restore the glory of ‘bhagwa’,” said Thakur and warned those who speak against the interests of the country.
While admitting that she had little experience in direct politics, Thakur said she hoped the work of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government over the last 15 years would help in her journey.
Formally announcing the party’s decision of naming Thakur from Bhopal, Chouhan, the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, said Thakur’s life was always devoted to the welfare of the nation and its safety and from now on, she would also serve through politics.
Denying talks of delay in announcing her nomination, Chouhan said, “We have devised a strategy for Pragya Thakur’s victory by a record margin.”
After announcing Thakur’s name, a BJP meeting was held in Bhopal with local leaders in attendance. Though initially most of the leaders wanted a local candidate, later, all of them spoke in support of the sadhvi.
Singh, who had greeted Thakur’s candidature in a tweet, had said that he prayed to ‘Ma Narmada’ for the sadhvi and sought blessings from the river that everyone walked on the path of dharma, truth and non-violence.
Later, while speaking to News18, Singh declined to speak much on Thakur’s candidature, but when asked about the sadhvi’s terming the election a battle of dharma and adharma, the senior Congress leader said, “I am a religious person.”
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