The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday barred BJP candidate from Bhopal Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from campaigning for 72 hours starting from Thursday for her remarks on former ATS chief Hemant Karkare and Babri Masjid demolition.
The poll panel “strongly condemned” her remarks” and “warned her “not to repeat the misconduct in future”. The ban would come into force from 6.00 am, May 2 (Thursday). The EC said though Pragya had apologised for her statement about Hemant Karkare, the Commission has found it “unwarranted”.
“The District Election officer, Bhopal not find the explanation furnished by Sadhvi not satisfactorily and found that she violated provisions of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by making the statement regarding demolition of Babri Masjid.
An FIR has been registered against her in this regard. “Whereas the Commission has carefully gone through the contents and averments made in the reply by Sadhvi and found it provocative and also on the religious lines that have the propensity of spreading hatred among various communities which is not confined to the Constituency only where the statement is made but also to the other parts as well as due to fast disseminations of information in this digital age. The Commission based on the material facts and evidence is convinced that Sadhvi Pragya Singh in her impugned speech has appealed to secure votes on religious lines that tantamount to the violations of the MCC,” read the order.
Pragya had said Karkare was killed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack because of her “curse” as he “tortured” her when he probed the Malegaon blast case as chief of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
She also had said that she was “proud” of her participation in the demolition of the Babri mosque at Ayodhya in 1992.