Pragya Thakur nominated to key committee on defence

Controversial BJP MP Pragya Thakur has been nominated to a crucial consultative committee on defence. Thakur will be part of the 21-member panel headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Her nomination to the panel has resulted in a political row as Congress attacked the government, saying it was unfortunate for the country that an MP accused of "spreading terror" has been nominated as a member of a defence-related committee. "'Modi has not been able to forgive her from the heart' but she has been given the responsibility on important issues such as the country's defence. That is why if there is Modi, anything is possible," tweeted Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.

The Bombay High Court granted Thakur bail on health grounds in April 2017 after the NIA dropped charges against her under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. She is, however, facing trial for multiple charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The 21-member consultative committee includes opposition leaders like Farooq Abdullah, TMC's Sougata Roy, DMK's A Raja and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. Thakur, the Bhopal MP, has often hogged headlines for her controversial statements.

She stoked a controversy when she claimed that Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse was a "patriot". Though she apologised for the remark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he would never forgive Thakur for the comment. The MP was issued a show-cause notice by BJP ahead of the 2019 general election. She previously earned the opposition ire when she claimed that then Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare was killed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks due to her "curse".

She had also attributed the deaths of Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley to 'marak shakti' (killing power) used by BJP's political adversaries.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)