Congress demands PM's apology over Pragya Thakur's comments on 26/11 martyr Karkare

The Congress Friday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the country and take action against the BJP's Bhopal nominee Pragya Singh Thakur, who claimed that 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare died because she had cursed him for "torturing" her.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the remark was an insult to every soldier who has sacrificed his life for the country while fighting terrorism.

"Modi ji, only BJP leaders can commit the crime of declaring 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare a traitor," Surjewala said on Twitter.

"This is an insult to every Indian soldier who has sacrificed his life for Mother India while fighting terrorism. Apologise to the country and take action against Pragya," he added.

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur is the BJP candidate for the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat against Congress heavyweight and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh.

Addressing a gathering of BJP workers on Thursday, Thakur said Karkare committed an anti-national act by falsely implicating her in the Malegaon blast case and keeping her behind bars without evidence.

"It was treason. It was against religion," she said.

Thakur alleged that she was tortured during her detention and she had cursed him.

"He tortured me and subjected me to harsh abuse which was unbearable. I told him he will be destroyed. A little over a month later 'sutak' (ritual observed after death of a family member) was going to start...just over a month later, he was shot dead by terrorists and the inauspicious period ended," she said.

Pragya Singh Thakur is an accused in the Malegaon terror blast case.

Hemant Karkare, a former Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) chief, died fighting terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. He was also leading the probe into the Malegaon attack.