Mumbai: Questions and doubts were raised over the duplicity of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) over terrorism after the ruling party decided to field Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, one of the accused in 2008 Malegaon terror attack, as its candidate in the 2019 Parliamentary Election.
“Latest addition to our scintillating list of MP contestants: a potential terrorist. Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya. BJP absolutely naked in its agenda of hate and divisiveness", actress and activist Swara Bhasker wrote on Twitter.
Swara Bhaskar's Twitter post came hours after BJP announced that Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur will take on Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijay Singh. Sigvijay Singh has always been very vocal against Hindutva terrorists and Saffron terror.
Reacting on the BJP decision, activist and former JNu students' leader, Shehla Rashid, wrote, “BJP takes the fight against terror to another level!”
Expressing his anguish over the BJP's decision, senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai wrote, "Fact: Charges have been framed against Sadhvi Pragya in Malegaon 2008 blast case , trial is on and she is yet to be acquitted by the court.. And she is the BJP candidate from the great city of Bhopal: what does one say but welcome to a ‘new’ India."
Member of the Rajya Sabha and film personality, Javed Akhtar, reacted in these word. "The choice of the BJP for The candidate in Bhopal is indeed immpeccable . Sadhvi Pragya is the perfect prosonification of sangh parivar’s thoughts and actions. Wah ! Wah !! Wah !!!", he wrote on twitter.
H Jadhav, one Twitter user wrote, “Now India lost right to oppose Hafiz Saeed to fight election in #Pakistan. Coz both are accused to spreading terror. If one is allowed why not other?”
Another Twitter user, Asghar RYP, tweeted, “Blast accused Sadhvi Pragya contesting election with BJP ticket. Her experience in handling bombs might fetch her ministry of Defence, if BJP happens to win.”
Bhopal's sitting BJP MP Alok Sanjar on the other hand welcomed the decision and said that the party members would support Sadhvi Pragya and work hard to ensure her victory in the Lok Sabha polls.
Sadhvi Pragya, along with Lt Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, was charged in the Malegaon blasts that killed six people and injured 80 others in a Muslim locality in Maharashtra in September 2008. She spent nine years in jail in connection with the case and is presently out on bail.
Sanjar said the charges levelled against Sadhvi Pragya were false. "A woman was harassed. Now it's time for revenge," Sanjar told reporters.
Sadhvi Pragya has always remained in the news for making controversial remarks. She had been associated with the RSS-linked youth outfit Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the 'Durga Vahini', the women's wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
At the time of her arrest, Sadhvi Pragya was charged with allegedly planning the Malegaon blasts and providing a two-wheeler that was used to plant a bomb.
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Maharashtra has dropped the charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Sadhvi Pragya but framed charges under the provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against her.
Sadhvi Pragya is expected to polarise the Hindu votes besides splitting the Rajput votes in the Bhopal constituency which has nearly 18 lakh voters, including around 4.5 lakh Muslims.
The BJP has been holding this seat since 1989. The Congress had last won the seat in 1984 when K.N. Pradhan defeated Laxminarayan Sharma of the BJP by over 1 lakh votes.
For all the latest News, Opinions and Views, download ummid.com App.
Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.
Officially confirmed: Sadhvi, Malegaon terror attack accused, is BJP candidate in Bhopal
Also Read
Malegaon terror attack accused Sadhvi Pragya formally joins BJP
BJP likely to field Malegaon Terror Attack fame Sadhvi against Digvijaya in Bhopal
Polling for 38 Lok Sabha, 18 Assemby seats in Tamil Nadu Thursday
LS election in Vellore cancelled two days after IT raid
Elections 2019: Fate of 10 of Maharashtra's 48 LS seats will be decided Thursday
2019 LS Polls: Muslim voters rule the show in many seats of West Bengal
Baharampur Lok Sabha 2019: A happy hunting ground for Congress since 1999
Not just Cong-NCP, Ambedkar-Owaisi Vanchit Aghadi poses challenge to BJP-Sena too
Why Kanhaiya Kumar's Lok Sabha foray in Begusarai is more than an electoral battle
Tanveer Hassan to withdraw from Begusarai in favour of Kanhaiya Kumar?
Fierce battles between BJP-Sena and Cong-NCP alliances in North Maharashtra
2019 LS Polls: Keen tussle is on for 04 seats in Maharashtra's Konkan Region
'Huge trunk' mysteriously unloaded from PM Modi's chopper, Cong demands probe
AMU, Jamia Millia Islamia among India's top 20 universities
Maneka Gandhi seeks Muslim votes, in typical BJP style
