Disciplinary inquiry against Pragya, others on Godse remark: Amit Shah

Distancing from the statements of party leaders Pragya Singh Thakur, Ananth Hegde and Nalin Kumar Kateel calling Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse a "patriot", BJP President Amit Shah on Friday said the party's Disciplinary Committee will inquire into the matter and submit a report within 10 days.

Saying the statements by the three leaders was against the party's ideology, Shah tweeted: "The statements made by Pragya Thakur, Ananth Hegde and Nalin Kateel in the last two days are their own statements. The BJP has no relation with their statements.

"However, they have retracted their statements and also apologized. The BJP has taken a decision to send their statements to the Disciplinary Committee. The committee will submit a report within 10 days to the BJP after receiving the replies of the three leaders over their statements that are against the ideology of the party," he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President's announcement came as the party faced criticism over the remarks ahead of the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

Pragya Thakur was the first among the three party leaders to call Godse a "patriot", leading the Election Commission to seek a report from the Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer.

As her statement went viral, two BJP MPs -- Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde and Nalin Kumar Kateel -- also came out in her support.

Godse shot dead Mahatma Gandhi at a prayer meeting in New Delhi on January 30, 1948. He was hanged after a trial.

--IANS

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