EC issues fresh notice to Sadhvi Pragya over campaigning during 72-hour ban

The election officer has sought a reply from Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in this regard within two days

Sadhvi Pragya

Bhopal District Election Officer issued another notice to Sadhvi Pragya soon after her 72-hour long ban ended

This was done over complaint of her campaigning during the three-day period when she was barred by EC from campaigning for the ensuing poll

The EC on Wednesday barred Thakur from campaigning for 72 hours for her remarks on former ATS chief Hemant Karkare and Babri mosque demolition

New Delhi: Soon after BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur’s censured period got over, the Bhopal District Election Officer issued another notice to her, over complaint of her campaigning during the three-day period when she was barred by EC from campaigning for the ensuing polls. The election officer has sought a reply from her in this regard within two days. The notice was sent to her after Congress complained that Sadhvi by the means of song, violated the rules of prohibition by campaigning in the three-day period. Sadhvi, whose banned period ended on Sunday, is back to campaigning in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal from where she is contesting against Congress veteran Digvijay Singh. During the 72-hour ban Sadhvi Pragya went from temple to temple and campaigned covertly via religious songs, and flouted the ban, the Congress alleged. Thakur said that her 72 hours were spent in worship and prayers and further too she will spend time the same way. The Election Commission Wednesday barred Thakur from campaigning for 72 hours for her remarks on former ATS chief Hemant Karkare and Babri mosque demolition. The panel "strongly condemned" her remarks and warned her "not to repeat the misconduct in future". The EC said though Pragya had apologised for her statement against the slain IPS officer, it found the statement to be "unwarranted". The ban came into force on 6.00 AM, May 2 (Thursday). The Malegaon blast accused had said Karkare was killed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack because of her "curse" as he "tortured" her when he probed the case as chief of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). She also had said that she was "proud" of her participation in the demolition of the Babri mosque at Ayodhya in 1992. In her response to the show cause notice on Karkare, she had said that the idea was to tell people how she was tortured allegedly at the behest of the Congress-led UPA government. She said she holds the right to tell people what she had gone through. On Babri mosque, she said she had no intentions of creating divide between people and her statement only reflects her inner voice. The EC found her statements to be "provocative" and having the potential to "spread hatred". The Commission felt the statements were aimed at securing votes on "religious grounds". Bhopal will vote in phase 6 of Lok Sabha elections on May 12. Pragya is pitted against Congress leader Digvijay Singh.

Published at : 05 May 2019 12:03 PM (IST)

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