Karkare's family members should not respond to Sadhvi's comments as it is below their dignity: Cong

The Congress on Sunday said the family members of Hemant Karkare, the Maharashtra ATS chief who was killed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, should not respond to comments made by the BJP's Bhopal candidate in the Lok Sabha polls and Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur as it is "below their dignity". According to a media report, Karkare's daughter Jui Navare on Saturday said she did not want to dignify Thakur and her statement, adding that her father's name "should be taken with dignity".

Addressing BJP workers on April 18, Thakur had claimed that Karkare died during the 26/11 terror attack as she had "cursed" him for torturing her when he probed the 2008 Malegaon blast case as the chief of Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). On Sunday, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said ,"When people like Sadhvi Pragya comment on a brave soldier who has laid down his life for the country, his family members should not even respond as it is below their dignity."

"What is the benefit in responding to such crass statements? If a person who has a word like Sadhvi in her name uses such language, it is an insult to the word. If you are giving such statements, it is an insult to the word 'Sadhvi'," he said at a press conference here. Asserting that Thakur and Karkare could not be compared, the Congress leader said, "Where does he (Karkare) stand and where does this person, who is accused by the NIA (National Investigation Agency), stand?...She is temporarily out on bail. How can she and him be compared?"

According to a media report, Karkare's daughter has said, "I do not want to dignify her (Sadhvi Pragya) or her statement. I only want to talk about Hemant Karkare. He was a role model and his name should be taken with dignity." She said she wanted everyone to remember that "even in his death, he (Karkare) was trying to save his city, his country".