Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor call Pragya Thakur's Godse comment intentional

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor on Friday said that BJP MP Pragya Thakur made the comment about Mahatma Gandhi's murderer Nathuram Godse knowing fully well what she meant and that her apology is a farce.

"Sadhvi Pragya said what she believes in. I do not agree with her. I have cleared my position," Rahul Gandhi told reporters outside the Parliament.

"She knows perfectly well what she has said. It was absolutely disgraceful. She made a so-called statement of apology. She should have given an unqualified apology. If she does not give an unqualified apology, she should be suspended from the House," Shashi Tharoor said.

Thakur, a first-time MP from Bhopal had triggered uproar when during a discussion in the lower house on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, she interjected DMK member A Raja with a remark purportedly in praise of Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse.

However, later on, she claimed that she was referring to Udham Singh. Speaker Om Birla expunged Thakur's remark from the records but opposition members protested outside the House.

Earlier this year, she described Godse as a 'patriot' and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made it clear that such statements would not be tolerated by the party.