Patriot Godse row: Congress demands 'unqualified apology' from Pragya, Speaker calls meeting

Despite apologising, Pragya said on Friday her comment was "distorted" and lambasted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for calling her a "terrorist".

"If anyone was hurt by my comment then I apologise. But my comment in the parliament was distorted... I have respect towards Mahatma Gandhi, she said adding, "One member in the Lok Sabha called me a terrorist despite no charges. I was insulted."

Calling Pragya a "terrorist", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday tweeted, "Terrorist Pragya calls terrorist Godse, a patriot. A sad day, in the history of India’s Parliament."

Congress' Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday said, "We demand an unqualified apology."

"Whatever has been said outside the parliament should not be discussed," he added with Rahul sitting in the Lok Sabha.

While DMK MP A Raja in the parliament on Wednesday was referring to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse, Pragya courted a massive controversy by calling Godse as "deshbhakt" or a "patriot".

Immediately, the opposition bench stood up and protested against the remark.

Though Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had said Pragya didn't take Godse's name, BJP working president Jagat Prakash Nadda came down heavily upon the Bhopal MP and removed her from the Defence Ministry panel in which she was nominated few days ago. 

Accepting Samajwadi Party founder and veteran parliamentarian Mulayam Singh Yadav's proposal, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the lower house till 2:30 pm and called an all-party meet.

This is not the first time Pragya referred to Godse as a patriot but she said a similar thing during the 2019 General Elections campaign drawing ire from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi had then rebuked Pragya over her remark and had said he will never forgive his party colleague.