The nation was in for a shock when the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party announced that Sadhvi Pragya will be the latest member of the political party.
Pragya Singh Thakur, popularly known as Sadhvi Pragya, will be contesting from Bhopal against Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. She will file her nomination on April 23.
Sadhvi Pragya is known for her alleged involvement in the 2008 Malegaon blast which led to her arrest in Maharashtra. Many rival parties accused the BJP of spreading pro-Hindutva ideologies and accepting those involved in terrorist activities into their fold.
Sadhvi Pragya alleged that she was tortured by her jailers during her arrest in 2008. She also included the name of Hemant Karkare, a Mumbai police officer who was martyred during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Talking to reporters on Thursday, Sadhvi Pragya broke down into tears while recounting her experience in jail. She pointed out that Hemant Karkare treated her badly and that his death in the attack was karma.
According to NDTV, she said, "The investigation team called Hemant Karkare and said if you do not have evidence, let her go. He said, I will do anything to get evidence against her. I won't let her go. This was his hatred (kuteelta). He was anti-national. He was dharam virudh (anti-religion). You won't believe, but I said, 'tera sarvanashhoga'. Just after 'sawa' month, terrorists killed him."
#WATCH Pragya Singh Thakur:Maine kaha tera (Mumbai ATS chief late Hemant Karkare) sarvanash hoga.Theek sava mahine mein sutak lagta hai. Jis din main gayi thi us din iske sutak lag gaya tha.Aur theek sava mahine mein jis din atankwadiyon ne isko maara, us din uska anth hua (18.4) pic.twitter.com/COqhEW2Bnc
— ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2019
"Hemant Karkare falsely implicated me [in Malegaon blasts] and treated me very badly. I told him your entire dynasty will be erased. He died of his karma," Sadhvi Pragya was quoted as saying by India Today.
While most of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case were acquitted, it cannot go unnoticed that Sadhvi Pragya's motorcycle was used as the container to house the bomb. However, the National Investigation Agency let her off the hook.
Madhya Pradesh will go into elections as part of the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th phases of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The polling date for Bhopal is May 12. The results of the election will be announced on May 23.
