Bhopal: Malegaon blast accused and BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur on Sunday said Hindutva and development are synonymous. In her first remarks after a 72-hour campaign ban by the Election Commission ended, she said her opponent Digvijaya Singh of Congress was one of the main proponents of “saffron terror”. “I am waging Dharm yuddh against those who maligned Sanatan Dharma by coming out with the term ‘Bhagwa Aatankawad’ (saffron terror), sent me to jail and tortured me under the garb of law,” she said.
Claiming that she faced “atrocities” in the jail, she said there was no evidence against her and she was given a clean chit by National Investigation Agency. “I have forgiven those who tortured me and made me suffer atrocities. I am contesting the elections also to ensure no woman faces the atrocities I suffered in jail,” she said. The BJP will come out with a vision document ‘Bhavishya ka Bhopal’ on May 7. “A clean Bhopal, security of women, conservation of lakes in the city are some of my priorities,” she said.
The BJP has been holding Bhopal Lok Sabha seat, where about 4.5 lakh of the 18 lakh voters are Muslim, since 1989. Arrested in 2008 Malegaon blast case, she was given a clean chit by the National Investigation Agency but the trial court refused to discharge her from the case. The court dropped the charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against her, and she is now being tried under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. She was granted bail by Bombay High Court in 2017. The Election Commission had Wednesday barred Thakur from campaigning for 72 hours for her remarks on former ATS chief Hemant Karkare and Babri mosque demolition. The ban came into force from 6 am on May 2. PTI