EC orders FIR against Sadhvi Pragya for Babri Masjid remark

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur

Bhopal: The Election Commission (EC) has directed the police to file an FIR against BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur for her remark that she was "proud" of her participation in demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in 1992.

The EC Saturday had issued a show-cause notice to Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast accused currently out on bail, over her remark made during an interview to a news channel. "We are going to file an FIR against the BJP candidate for her remarks over Ayodhya at the TT Nagar Police Station," district election officer and collector Sudam Khade told PTI.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), TT Nagar area, Sanjay Shrivastava said the FIR is being filed against the 48-year- old right-wing activist for alleged violation of the model code of conduct which is in force for the Lok Sabha elections.

During the interview, Thakur was quoted as saying "Ram Mandir hum banayenge aur bhavya banayenge, hum todne gaye the dhancha, maine chadhkar toda tha dhancha, iss par mujhe bhayankar garv hai. "Mujhe Ishwar ne shakti di thi humne desh ka kalank mitaya hai (A grand Ram temple will be built. I had gone to demolish the structure and had climbed atop it to break it. I am tremendously proud of it. God gave me strength to wipe off a blot on this country)."

The EC notice had said Thakur's remark was a violation of chapter 4 of the model code of conduct, which pertains to maintenance of harmony between castes, communities, religious, linguistic groups. Reacting to the notice, Thakur had Sunday told reporters," I am not backtracking (from the remark. The structure was demolished and a grand temple would be constructed. Nobody can stop me from constructing a grand temple (at the disputed site)."

In reply to another question, she said, "What disputed structure? We will construct a grand Ram temple, will reconstruct it." Earlier, the EC had on Saturday issued a show-cause notice to Thakur over her controversial remark about 26/11 martyr and Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare. Thakur had claimed Karkare died during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as she "cursed" him for "torturing" her when he probed the blast case as chief of the Anti- Terrorism Squad (ATS). Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

On Monday in Kolkata, BJP president Amit Shah defended his party's decision to field Thakur as its Lok Sabha candidate, saying allegations against her are false and the real culprits in the Malegaon blast case have evaded the law.

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