Pragya's nomination to parliamentary panel is insult to defence forces: Cong

The nomination of controversial Bhopal MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur to the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on defence provoked a storm of criticism from various quarters on Thursday.

In a bulletin issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, it was announced Sadhvi Pragya would be part of the 21-member committee headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Reacting to the appointment of Pragya, the Congress noted she was accused of involvement in terror cases and called her a "Godse fanatic". The Congress tweeted, "Pragya Thakur, a terror accused & Godse fanatic has been nominated by the BJP govt. to be a member of the Parliamentary Panel on Defence. This move is an insult to our nation's defence forces, to our nation's esteemed parliamentarians & to every Indian."

Eminent lawyer and critic of the Narendra Modi government Prashant Bhushan tweeted about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that he could never forgive Pragya for her praise of Nathuram Godse. Bhushan tweeted, "Pragya Thakur nominated to Parliamentary Panel on Defence. Modi said he couldn't forgive the Malegaon blasts case accused after she termed Nathuram Godse a 'patriot'. But of course a terror accused is the most suitable person for deciding country's defence."

Other reactions to the appointment of Pragya tended to be more humorous. Some Twitter users referred to her statement during the Lok Sabha poll campaign that late Mumbai police officer Hemant Karkare was killed in the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008 after she cursed him. Twitter user PuNsTeR called it a "masterstroke" as "We can finally use her 'shraap' & 'maarak shakti' to defend our borders."

In August, Pragya claimed the opposition was using deadly powers to kill BJP leaders. Pragya's statement came after the deaths in quick succession of Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Babulal Gaur.