Narendra Modi: I will never forgive Sadhvi Pragya for insulting Bapu

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New Delhi: In the latest development Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur controversy involving Nathuram Godse, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he will never forgive Sadhvi for insulting Mahatma Gandhi by calling Nathuram Godse a patriot. "The statements given about Gandhiji or Godse are very bad and are wrong for the society. Though she (Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur) apologised but I will never forgive her," Prime Minister Modi said in an interview with News24 TV channel.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal had earlier on Friday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on Sadhvi Pragya's remarks on Nathuram Godse. Kapil Sibal tweeted, "When Sadhvi Pragya says 'Godse a Deshbakht' and Modi is silent with Vidyasagar's statue a victim of the violent. I can only pray for my country and hope that one day the silent majority will keep violence at bay."

Sadhvi Pragya, BJP's candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat, had on Thursday sparked a controversy after she called Mahatma Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram Godse, a 'patriot'. "Nathuram Godse was a deshbhakt, is a deshbhakt and will remain a deshbhakt," Thakur had said while commenting on actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan's remark that India's first terrorist was a Hindu, referring to Godse.

Earlier on Friday, 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."

The opposition parties condemned her statement saying what she said reflected the mindset of the people nurtured by RSS ideology.

Pragya Thakur later apologised for her statement. She said, "If someone has been hurt then I apologise for it. What Gandhi ji did for this country cannot be forgotten. I respect him a lot. My statement was misinterpreted and twisted by the media."

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