"Expert In Bomb Making": Twitter as Pragya Thakur enters Defence Ministry Panel

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"Expert In Bomb Making": Twitter as Pragya Thakur enters Defence Ministry Panel

Reactions poured over the latest move by the Modi government with more than 7000 messages posted on Twitter

Thursday November 21, 2019 12:10 PM, ummid.com with inputs from IANS

[The motorcycle used in 2008 Malegaon blast was traced to Sadvhi Pragya SIngh Thakur leading to her consequent arrest. (ummid.com file photo)]

New Delhi: Twitter users Thursday reacted sharply to the reports that Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in Malegaon terrorist attack, has been nominated to a parliamentary panel formed by the Defence Ministry.

"Pragya Thakur has been included in the Parliamentary Panel on Defence. Good to see Govt including the subject matter experts in Parliamentary Panel, Pragya being expert in bomb making", a Twitter user who uses handler @Vishj05 wrote on the social media site.

Reactions poured on Twitter over the latest move by the Modi government with more than 7000 messages posted using the hash (#) tag "Pragya Thakur" making it one of the top trends of the day.

The 21-member Parliamentary Consultative Committee also includes the likes of opposition leaders Farooq Abdullah, TMC's Sougata Roy, DMK's A. Raja and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.

"Modi said he couldn't forgive the Malegaon blasts case accused after she termed Nathuram Godse a 'patriot'. But of course a terror accused is the most suitable person for deciding country's defence", senior lawyer and activist, Prashant Bhushan, wrote on Twitter.

Using its official Twitter handler @INCIndia, Congress also reacted on the Modi government's controversial and provocative decision.

"Pragya Thakur, a terror accused & Godse fanatic has been nominated by the BJP govt. to be a member of the Parliamentary Panel on Defence. This move is an insult to our nation's defence forces, to our nation's esteemed parliamentarians & to every Indian", the Congress said.

"The last time Pragya Thakur sat on a “Defense Panel” was with Col. Purohit inside the lockup facing terror charges... On the flip side, “Marak Shakti” might just become our newest long-range defense system", Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale), an activist and journalist, wrote.

"Ms. Pragya Thakur nominated to Parliamentary Panel on Defence. The women of India must take a cue from it. If you want a career, build a CV on the lines of Ms. Pragya. She has destroyed the 'glass ceiling'", Jyoti Yadav (@jyotiyadaav), a journalist, wrote.

According to the government notification dated October 21, the 21-member parliamentary consultative committee is headed by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Thakur, who defeated Congress heavyweight Digvijaya Singh in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, also featured in the committee.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections Thakur had courted controversy with her remarks on a number of occasions. She had landed in a major controversy when she called Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, a patriot. The BJP had issued a showcause notice to Pragya over the remarks.

Thakur had also stirred controversy by saying that then Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare had died during the 26/11 terror attack because of her "curse".

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.

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