Amit Shah does damage control on Nathuram Godse controversy

Amit Shah. Pic/PTI

New Delhi: In an effort to do damage control on the Godse controversy, BJP president Amit Shah said that the statements made by Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and two MPs--Anant Kumar Hegde and Nalin Kateel were against the official stand and ideology of the party and has referred the matter to the disciplinary committee for action.

As the controversy raged over backing Godse, the assassin of the father of the nation, Amit Shah wrote in Hindi on Twitter, "The statements given by Shri Anantkumar Hegde, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, and Shri Nalin Kateel in the past two days are their personal statements. BJP has nothing to do with them."

Amit Shah's second tweet said that the statements made by three leaders go against BJP's ideology and would be dealt with strictly after the internal disciplinary committee files a report. "They have retracted their statements and have also apologised for them. Still these statements, made in public, go against BJP's ideology and dignity and are being taken seriously by the party which has decided to send the three statements to the disciplinary committee," the tweet read.

"The disciplinary committee has been asked to collect the response of the three leaders and submit a report on the same within 10 days to the party," his final tweet read.

On Thursday, Pragya Singh Thakur had started a controversy by saying "Nathuram Godse was a 'deshbhakt', is a 'deshbhakt' and will remain a 'deshbhakt'".

Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde and another party MP Nalin Kateel on Friday took to twitter to add fuel to the controversy. Hegde said, "Am glad that 7 decades later today's generation debates in a changed perceptional environment and gives good scope for the condemned to be heard upon. #NathuramGodse would have finally felt happy with this debate!"

Nalin compared Godse with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and 2008 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab. He tweeted, "Godse killed one, Kasab killed 72, Rajiv Gandhi killed 17,000. You judge who is more cruel in this??" (sic). As their tweets attracted attention, both of them deleted their controversial remarks.

Shah's second tweet said that the statements made by three leaders go against BJP's ideology and would be dealt with strictly after the internal disciplinary committee files a report. "They have retracted their statements and have also apologised for them. Still, these statements made in public, go against BJP's ideology and dignity and are being taken seriously by the party which has decided to send the three statements to the disciplinary committee," the tweet read. "The disciplinary committee has been asked to collect the response of the three leaders and submit a report on the same within 10 days to the party," his final tweet read.

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