Pragya's candidature is reply to those who labelled Hindus as terrorists: Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said Pragya Singh Thakur's candidature was a reply to those who labelled Hindus as terrorists for their own vote bank politics.

"There was a time when terrorism was at its peak. The minorities felt that they were the only ones being targeted. They had anger against then Congress and NCP government," said Chief Minister Fadnavis during a press conference here.

"The government should have either justified their action or fix the problem. The Congress and NCP government started 'Hindu terrorism' as a reply to this. They propagated the theory of Hindu terrorism. They released some people but arrested Pragya and some others to label Hindus as terrorists," he said.

Referring to Malegaon blast, Fadnavis said: "During the investigation, NIA found the entire case as fabricated and gave clean chit to her. Pragya's candidature is a reply to them who termed Hindus as terrorists for their own vote bank politics."

When asked whether he supports the remark made by BJP candidate Pragya Singh Thakur about Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Fadnavis said that this kind of statement should not be made.

"BJP considers Karkare ji as a martyr. He has given his life for the country. When Sadhvi ji gave a statement about him, BJP sidelined itself from her statement. Later, she also apologised for it. I have already said that this type of statement should not be made," he said.

"Hemant Karkare ji never used the word Hindu terrorism. It is used by three people -- Digvijay Singh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, and Sharad Pawar," Fadnavis said.

Last month, Thakur had said that former Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare lost his life because she had cursed him.

Thakur is contesting parliamentary election against former MP Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh from Bhopal.

The Chief Minister termed the listing of JeM chief Azhar Masood as "a global terrorist" as a big win for India.

"The entire world stood with us to declare Azhar Masood as a global terrorist. India won a big fight against terrorism," he said.

"BJP is working with two objectives -- development and national security. The Congress and its allies have no answer to this. They have ruled for sixty years but could not deliver on the front of the development," said Fadnavis.