Bhopal: Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said that Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has been made the BJP candidate from Bhopal as the party feels she is “not guilty” but was made a scapegoat by the then Congress government after coining the word ‘bhagwa aatanki’ (saffron terror).
In an interview to IANS, Chouhan said, “Sadhvi Pragya Thakur was made the party’s candidate after a lot of deliberation. He said in 2008 a word was coined ‘bhagwa aatanki’ (saffron terror). “Congress coined this word and they made her scapegoat and Digvijaya Singh was the medium,” he said.
The former Chief Minister said that a different kind of atmosphere was created by bringing in “Hindutva terrorism” in the picture.
“This was brought under a conspiracy to defame Hindutva. And Sadhvi Pragya was made the scapegoat. She was tortured and despite being a woman she was beaten up mercilessly,” he said.
When asked if the party could have waited till the time the court acquitted her in the Malegaon blast case, he said, “Why should we have to wait to get her acquitted when we believe that she is not a terror accused.”
“And Sadhvi Pragya is not fighting alone we all are fighting with her in the elections,” he said.
To a question if she was fielded from Bhopal after looking at the Congress candidate Digvijaya Singh, Chauhan said, "We fielded her only after Digvijaya Singh's candidature was announced in Bhopal. It was decided that she was the perfect candidate against Digvijaya Singh. “And it was a collective decision of the party,” he said.
When asked if the BJP government had done a lot of development works in last five years, then why rake nationalism as the party’s main election slogan, the BJP leader said, “Nationalism has always been our issue. Will any citizen like, if any soldiers is beheaded by Pakistan?”
Recalling the 2016 surgical strikes and the 2019 Balakot air strike across the border, he said: “After Uri and Pulwama we gave befitting reply to Pakistan.
“There is nothing wrong in nationalism issue,” he said.
Lamenting at the Congress and the other opposition parties, the three time Chief Minister said: "Those who are worried never followed nationalism and never bothered for the national security.
“Those who gave shelter to SIMI and those who speak in the language of terrorists have problem with the issue of nationalism,” he asserted. Hitting out at the Congress for demanding evidence after the air strikes in Pakistan, he said: “After Balakot everyone is happy but the Congress questions it. They looked sad after the surgical strike and air strike and after we successfully brought back Wing Commander Abhinandan.”
He also said that the government’s war against terrorism has entered into the final stage as dreaded terrorist Masood Azhar has been declared a global terrorist by the UN Security Council and the Burhan Wani gang in Kashmir has been eliminated. “The BJP has always said that it will never compromise on the issue of national security,” he said adding that there are few disruptive forces in the country and they too will be crushed. Asked about how many seats the party will win in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP leader said: “We won 27 out of 29 in 2014 Lok Sabha elections and this time also we are hopeful of winning 25+ seats in the state.” (IANS)
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