Joke or jibe? Sadhvi Pragya calls Sehore media 'dishonest'

Bhopal MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has termed reporters in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh "beimaan" (dishonest) in comments that seem to have been made in a lighter vein.

Thakur made these comments on Tuesday when local reporters sought her reaction on various issues in the state ruled by the Congress.

"I am speaking now hear your praise. All media persons in Sehore are dishonest," Thakur said while laughing.

Responding to a query on ongoing rains in the state at another spot, she said, "Since Sadhvi has entered (politics) it has rained heavily".

Thakur had visited Sehore, which is part of the Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, to distribute fruits to mark the 69th birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Thakur, a prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case on bail, had defeated her closet Congress rival Digvijaya Singh in her maiden election in May this year.

Thakur had stoked controversies in the past with her remarks. She had called Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse a patriot. During campaigning for polls, she had said that ATS officer Hemant Karkare died during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack due to her "curse" for torturing her.

In July, Thakur told BJP workers that she had not become a lawmaker to clean drains or toilets, an apparent dig at the Swaccha Bharat Abhiyan.

Last month, she had said the Opposition was using 'marak shakti' (killing power) to harm BJP leaders, and that the 'evil power' was behind the deaths of former Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj.