Even as the rest of the country was trying to get its head around her nomination as BJPs Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has bombarded her electorate with controversial statements one after another, earning the Election Commissions ire along the way.Be it her utterances, or her attire –- her feathered headgear, stylish shades –- or her antics, wheel-chair-bound one day and dancing on the next, Thakur seems to be trying hard to create an image for herself that's completely different from her opponents. IANS takes a look at some of the contentious statements made by Sadhvi Pragya, who is no stranger to controversies.
(April 18, 2019) On "Hindu terror"
* Mounting a counter-attack in response to the "Hindu terror" slogan, Sadhvi Pragya told a television channel: "Katal-e-aam Hindu kabhi nahi karta kyuki humare sanskriti mai kahi bhi iss prakar ke baat hai hi nahi (I haven't committed any murder, a Hindu can never take such step as its not in our culture)."
(April 19, 2019) ‘Cursing' Karkare
* She claimed to have cursed Hemant Karkare, the late chief of Mumbai's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which, according to her, led to his death. "Tera sarvanash hoga" (you will be destroyed) is the "shrap" (curse) she is said to have given to Karkare for allegedly torturing her while she was in custody. Karkare was killed during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
(April 21, 2019) Ram Mandir push
* In a television interaction, Thakur said: "Ram Mandir hum banayenge aur bhavya banayenge, hum todne gaye the dhancha, maine chadhkar toda tha dhancha, iss par mujhe bhayankar garv hai. Mujhe Ishwar ne shakti di thi humne desh ka kalank mitaya hai (A grand Ram temple will be built. I had gone to demolish the structure and had climbed atop it to break it. I am tremendously proud of it. God gave me the strength to wipe off a blot on this country)."
(April 25, 2018) ‘Italy wali bai'
* In April 2018 in Surat, Sadhvi Pragya said saints were put behind bars so that the reign of "the lady who has come from Italy" may be established, referring to Sonia Gandhi as "Italy wali bai."
(February 3, 2017) ‘Truth prevails'
* After she was acquitted of the murder of former RSS Pracharak Sunil Joshi, she had said: "Truth has prevailed. One nationalist can't kill another nationalist. It was a conspiracy hatched by four-five leaders to defame the nationalists and saffron.''