Fielding Pragya a reply to those who called Hindu 'terrorist'

Thakur joined the BJP on Wednesday and will be contesting from Bhopal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the fielding of Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blasts case, as the BJP candidate from Bhopal was a symbolic answer to all those who labelled the rich Hindu civilisation as "terrorist" and asserted that "this symbol will prove costly for the Congress".

Thakur joined the BJP on Wednesday and will be contesting from Bhopal. He said the Congress worked with a certain modus operandi to create false narratives on incidents such as the Samjhauta Express blasts and the death of judge BH Loya.

Defending the fielding of Thakur, who is on bail in the Malegaon blasts case, Modi asked why no such questions were being asked when Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi were contesting from the Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies, respectively, despite being on "bail". "One woman, that too a 'sadhvi', was humiliated in such a manner," he said.

"In Amethi, they [Congress] have a candidate [Rahul Gandhi] who is on bail; in Rae Bareli, they have a candidate [Sonia Gandhi] who is on bail, but there is no debate on that. But if the candidate from Bhopal is on bail, there is so much of outcry," he said.

Pragya Singh Thakur is pitted against Congress' Digvijaya Singh. Pic/PTI

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