After Rajiv Gandhi, now Nathuram Godse, the man who killed the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, is the latest figure from the past to become a political issue in the ongoing parliamentary election. The BJP’s candidate from Bhopal and Malegaon blast accused Sandhvi Pragya Singh Thakur on Thursday declared that Godse was a nationalist and would remain so forever. The statement created a huge controversy as opposition parties attacked the BJP over it and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify the position of the saffron party. Immediately, the BJP went into damage control mode and asked the sadhvi to apologize.
Later in the day, she did issue a statement saying she obeys the party’s line. Her statement did not really shock political analysts and independent watchers. Sadhvi Pragya is representative of the Hindu hardliner and she was made a candidate just to polarize the voters. This election has truly exposed the BJP and its double standards on terrorism. Pragya Thakur is an accused in the Malegaon blasts – in which six people were killed and more than 100 injured – and she is currently out on bail. By fielding her as candidate, the BJP has opened a floodgate and in future, other parties may follow a similar path. By simply asking the sadhvi to apologize and withdraw her statement on Godse, the BJP will not be able to erase the sight of seeing a terror accused fighting an election. With every passing day the saffron party and its leaders are issuing statements which have the potential to damage India’s social fabric forever.