BJP MP Pragya Thakur Booked For Hate Speech Over Her 'Sharpen The Knives' Remark At Shivamogga Event

The Karnataka Police has registered a case against BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur for her alleged inflammatory speech at a convention in Shivamogga which was organised by a pro-Hindu outfit.

The case was registered at the Kote police station on Wednesday based on a complaint by Shivamogga District Congress Committee president H S Sundaresh.

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Case against Pragya Singh Thakur

The controversial MP from Bhopal has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion or race) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).

Earlier, TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale and political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla had filed complaints against Thakur with Shivamogga SP G K Mithun Kumar for allegedly making "hate speech".

However, stating that the complaints were received through the mail, the SP had asked them to appear before the jurisdictional police officer for the complaint to be registered.

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What did Pragya Thakur say

Pragya Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, was in Karnataka recently for the Hindu Jagarana Vedike's South Annual Convention organised in Shivamogga city on December 25.

Pragya had said that Hindus have the right to respond to those who attack them and their dignity as she spoke about the killing of Hindu activists.

"Love jihad, they have a tradition of jihad, if nothing, they do love jihad. Even if they love, they do jihad in that. We (Hindus) too love, love the god, a sanyasi loves his god," she said.

She had also told the gathering to give a befitting reply to anyone who "infiltrates our house".

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'Sharpen the knife'

"Keep your daughters safe and protected. Keep weapons at home. If nothing else, sharpen the knife used to cut vegetables. I'm speaking it clearly. They have used knives against the Hindu braves, workers of Bajrang Dal, BJP. We should also keep our knives used for chopping vegetables sharp. We don't know when and which situation may arrive. If our vegetables are cut well, heads and mouths of our enemies will also be cut well," she said.

The Bhopal MP said it is their "duty" to respond to any attack on the country or house.

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"Everyone has the right to self-defence. If somebody intrudes on our home and country and attacks us, then it is our duty to respond to it," she said.

Pragya has a long history of making controversial remarks, including calling Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse a patriot.

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