Opinion: An Indian candidate called Mahatma Gandhi’s killer a patriot. Modi must drop her now.
Pragya Singh Thakur, a candidate with the Bharatiya Janata Party , addresses people on her way to file her election nominations in Bhopal, India, on April 23. By Barkha Dutt Barkha Dutt Email Bio Follow May 16 at 7:50 PM Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s supporters believe that, by this time next week, he will be chosen to lead India for a second term.
On Thursday, a BJP candidate, Pragya Singh Thakur — who is accused of participating in a 2008 terrorist attack in which at least six people, all Muslims, were killed — defended the man who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. She called Nathuram Godse a “deshbhakt,” or “patriot.” To understand why this comment was met with an outcry, you need to understand how the BJP has run its 2019 election campaign. Modi has craftily wedded populist nationalism with Hindu majoritarianism. He has located criticism from the opposition within a narrative of elitism and liberal bleeding hearts. These barbs against liberals extends to how they have responded to Thakur.
Even before her outrageous comments on Gandhi, Thakur had already crossed all norms of civility and decency. The very fact that the BJP fielded a candidate on bail from terrorism charges was bad enough. Then she insulted Hemant Karkare, a police officer who was killed while leading anti-terrorist operations during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. While investigating the bomb blast that Thakur is charged in, Karkare traced a motorcycle used in the attacks to her.
Some Modi supporters may be tempted to dismiss her as the “fringe,” but that is a disingenuous argument. There used to be a similar adjective used for Yogi Adityanath, the rabble-rousing monk who is now the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most politically important state. In this election cycle, men accused of lynching a Muslim ironsmith attended a rally for Adityanath and sat in the front row.
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