April 23, 2026 01:12 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
'Will never forget’: Nation remembers Pahalgam victims as leaders vow strong fight against terror | 'India will never bow to any form of terror': PM Modi on Pahalgam terror attack anniversary | TCS Nashik case: No interim bail for Danish Shaikh in religious sentiments case | US woman alleges sexual assault at Karnataka homestay; owner among 2 arrested | ‘PM Modi is a terrorist’: Mallikarjun Kharge sparks row; BJP hits back | ‘What kind of order is this?’: Mamata slams ECI’s bike curbs in poll-bound Bengal, calls it ‘mischief’ | ‘90% of women can’t do politics without entering male politicians’ rooms’: Pappu Yadav sparks row; BJP targets Congress | Tim Cook to step down as Apple CEO; John Ternus named successor | 15 killed, 20 injured as bus plunges into gorge in J&K’s Udhampur | Oil jumps over 5% as Strait of Hormuz closure fuels supply fears

Is Mahatma Gandhi anti-national? Omar Abdullah hits out at Pragya's 'patriot Godse' remark

| @indiablooms | May 16, 2019, at 05:17 pm

Srinagar, May 16 (IBNS): Hitting out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Bhopal candidate Pragya Singh Thakur who called Nathuram Godse a "patriot", former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioned whether Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi is an "anti-national".

Abdullah reacted after Thakur on Thursday said Nathuram Godse, the man who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in 1948, "was a deshbhakt (patriot), is a deshbhakt and will remain one".

"If the killer of the father of the nation is a patriot does that make Mahatma Gandhi anti-national?" Abdullah said.

The saffron-clad Thakur, who calls herself "sadhvi", said this when asked to respond to the ongoing controversy over actor-turned politician Kamal Haasan, saying "Godse, the first extremist of independent India, was a Hindu". 

"Nathuram Godse was a deshbhakt, is a deshbhakt and will remain a deshbhakt. People calling him a terrorist should instead look within, such people will be given a fitting reply in the election," Thakur said.

The BJP has received criticism from various quarters, including international media, for fielding a terrorism-case accused as a candidate.

Six people were killed and more than 100 were injured in the Malegaon blasts.

Godse was a member of the Hindu Mahasabha.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.