Pragya Thakur apologises again for remarks on Godse

Amid opposition ruckus, BJP member Pragya Thakur on Friday made a fresh statement in Lok Sabha, apologising for her remarks on Nathuram Godse, even as she asserted that she never described Mahatma Gandhi's assassin as a patriot.

"I want to say only what I do for the country. On November 27, during discussion on SPG (Amendment) Bill, I did not call Nathuram Godse a patriot (desh bhakt), I did not even take his name. Still if someone is hurt, I express my regret and apologise," she said in Lok Sabha around 3.00 pm.

Before she entered the House, Speaker Om Birla had said that Thakur would read out the statement agreed upon at the meeting of party leaders.

Thakur started her remarks referring to her enemies, but she was interrupted by the Speaker. She then read out the fresh statement.

The House then resumed normal business with members speaking on their Zero Hour references.

Earlier in the day in her first statement, Thakur tendered an apology in Lok Sabha but asserted her remarks have been twisted.

The Bhopal MP said she had made the comments in a different context.

Thakur created a controversy on Wednesday with her remarks in the Lower House of Parliament during DMK member A Raja's narration of a statement by Nathuram Godse before a court on why he killed Mahatma Gandhi.

"If my comments have hurt in anyway, I regret and seek apology. But, my comments in the House have been twisted and misrepresented," she said, without taking Godse's name.

Thakur also said that she respects and pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi for his contribution to the country.

Thakur also said that she was dubbed as a terrorist by a sitting MP despite being acquitted by the court.

"One member has publicly termed me as a terrorist, though I have not been convicted by the court ... it is an insult to a woman and a sadhvi," she said and added that making such remarks too was against the law.

Thakur remains an accused in the Malegaon blast case.

Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a power-loom town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

Unsatisfied with Thakur's apology, the Congress strongly protested in the House and shouted slogans and demanded suspension of the BJP MP from the House.

Amid interruptions by opposition members, Speaker Birla had convened a meeting of party floor leaders to resolve the stalemate.