Remark was against Udham Singh's 'insult', says Pragya Thakur, calls controversy 'storm of lies'

BJP MP Pragya Thakur on Thursday insisted that her controversial remarks made in the Lok Sabha were against "insult" to revolutionary Udham Singh and said that "storm of lies becomes so big at times that even day appears to be night". Her tweet defending her comments, which was seen as praise for Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse, came after the Bharatiya Janata Party barred her from attending its parliamentary party meeting during the ongoing Parliament session and sacked her from a consultative committee on defense.

"Storm of lies becomes so big at times that even day appears to be night but the Sun does not lose its light. People should not be swayed by this storm. Truth is that I did not tolerate the insult to Udham Singh yesterday," the Bhopal MP tweeted. Earlier, BJP working president J P Nadda announced disciplinary action against Thakur and condemned the controversial Hindutva leader's remarks in a bid to defuse the political crisis triggered by her remarks on Wednesday.

"The statement given by MP Pragya Thakur is condemnable. BJP never supports such a statement and we do not support this ideology. We have decided that Thakur will not attend meetings of BJP parliamentary party during the session," he told reporters. Thakur created a controversy on Wednesday with her remark in the Lower House during DMK member A Raja's narration of a statement by Nathuram Godse before a court on why he killed Mahatma Gandhi.

However, after opposition members protested against Thakur's remarks, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said only the DMK leader's speech during the discussion on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill will go on record. "We are very clear about it that we condemn her statement and we do not support this ideology," Nadda, who was accompanied by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, said.

This is not the first time that Thakur has courted controversy because of her comments on Godse. During the Lok Sabha election campaign, Thakur had described Godse as a patriot, triggering a huge political storm.

Later, she had apologized for her statement. However, Prime Minister Modi had said the remarks made about Gandhiji or Nathuram Godse were bad and wrong for society. "She has sought an apology but I would never be able to forgive her fully," he had said.

"Nathuram Godse was a 'Desh bhakti', he is and will remain a 'Desh Bhakti'. Those calling him a terrorist should instead look at themselves. They will be given a befitting reply in this election," the controversial leader had said while attending a roadshow. The BJP had immediately got into damage control and distanced itself from Thakur's statement and asked her to tender a public apology.