Lok Sabha Election 2019: BJP caught between Ram & Nathuram

As campaigning for the 2019 general elections wound down on Friday, the BJP was pushed into a corner and forced to ask three of its leaders to explain their comments on Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, even as the Congress went all out to gain maximum mileage out of the controversy.

The Pandora’s box opened on Thursday with BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha candidate and Malegaon blast accused Pragya Singh Thakur lauding Godse as a “patriot” and issuing an apology hours later saying she respected Gandhi and his work for the country cannot be forgotten.

As the row escalated, BJP’s MP from Karnataka Nalin Kumar Kateel compared Godse with former PM Rajiv Gandhi “Godse killed one, Kasab killed 72, Rajiv Gandhi killed 17,000. You judge who is more cruel in this??” Kateel tweeted on Thursday, equating Godse, 26/11 convict Ajmal Kasab and Rajiv Gandhi.

Union minister Hegde, who also found himself in the news with a purported tweet justifying Godse’s action, claimed his account was hacked.

As the controversy raged on the last day of campaigning, BJP president Amit Shah said the party has taken serious note of the statements from Union minister Anantkumar Hegde, Pragya Thakur and its Karnataka MP Nalin Kumar Kateel. Shah also asked the party’s disciplinary committee to submit a report on the issue in 10 days.

“They have withdrawn their statements and also apologised. However, their remarks are against the decorum of public life and the BJP and also against the party’s ideology,” Shah tweeted.

The party went into damage control, sensing the row could hurt the party’s poll prospects in the last 59 seats that vote on Sunday. Over the last year or so, the BJP has been promoting itself as a torchbearer of Gandhi’s ideals and legacy, which has long been the Congress domain.

It also asked Pragya Thakur to stay away from a road show on the last day of campaign.