[Even more telling is the prime minister’s defence of the party’s newest recruit. Narendra Modi has chosen Ms Thakur for, according to him, the Opposition will have to pay dearly for having accused the Hindu civilization of terror. This is a frightening inversion. Accusing an individual is not accusing a civilization; besides, Ms Thakur’s case is being processed under the law. Is the law Opposition? By flaunting her as a Lok Sabha candidate, the prime minister and his party are indirectly proclaiming her innocence — still unproven in court — and suggestively glorifying her for what she allegedly has not done. What else qualifies her as a BJP candidate? But even for the BJP, it is a bit of a stretch to imagine Ms Thakur as part of any civilized life, let alone a whole civilization.
(Excerpted from sl. no. I. below.) Eight former top police officers Sunday strongly condemned the “despicable” remark of BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Pragya Singh Thakur that her “curse” killed Hemant Karkare, and demanded those who laid down their lives for the country be respected. In a statement, the former DGPs said the country owes Karkare, who headed the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad and was killed during the 26/11 terror attack, a huge debt of gratitude and anything that detracts from this is worthy of strong condemnation. ... Those who signed the statement include: former Punjab DGP Julio Ribeiro, former BSF chief and UP and Assam DGP Prakash Singh, former Kerala DGPs PKH Tharakan and Jacob Punoose, former National Police Academy (Hyderabad) DGP Kamal Kumar, former Maharashtra DGP Sanjeev Dayal, former Assam DGP and NSG DG Jayanto N. Choudhury, and N Ramachandran, ex-DGP Meghalaya. (Excerpted from sl. no. II. below.)] I/II. https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/a-stretch-to-imagine-pragya-singh-thakur-as-part-of-civilized-life-let-alone-a-civilization/cid/1689177 A stretch to imagine Pragya Singh Thakur as part of civilized life, let alone a civilization Sadhvis and yogis now form a phalanx in a no-holds-barred political battle, defying ethics, decorum, reason, truth and the law By The Editorial Board Published 22.04.19, 9:06 AM Updated 22.04.19, 9:06 AM 2 mins read Pragya Singh Thakur arrives at the Madhya Pradesh BJP headquarters in Bhopal on Wednesday, April 17. That the BJP inducted her just before announcing her candidacy indicates its wish to employ a full-on Hindutva strategy with its unmistakable undertone of threat and violence PTI photo The concept of holiness has changed somewhat in India. Sadhvis and yogis now form an aggressive phalanx in a no-holds-barred political battle, defying ethics and decorum, reason, truth and the law. From the inspiring call for one more ‘dhakka’ to bring down the Babri Masjid in 1992 through marking out the ‘haramzades’ from the ‘Ramzades’ in a meeting to being nominated as a candidate while facing trial for a terrorist attack, the sadhvis match their saffron-clad male peers in growing earthly power. Pragya Singh Thakur’s candidacy in Bhopal in the Lok Sabha elections suggests that the Bharatiya Janata Party is thumbing its nose at the need to clean politics of criminality. Ms Thakur, out on bail, is expected to face trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for planning and helping to execute the 2008 Malegaon blast. She was acquitted for this charge under the Maharashtra terror law; the National Investigation Agency has been rather sparse with evidence in this and other similar cases, the Samjhauta Express blast case being an example. It seems that Hindu terror is a nasty story told by ‘anti-nationals’, including members of the Opposition. Perhaps Ms Thakur and her vicious remarks — she apologized for the latest one probably because the BJP did not back her — are less important than what she is meant to represent. That the BJP inducted her into the party just before announcing her candidacy indicates its wish to employ a full-on Hindutva strategy with its unmistakable undertone of threat and violence. Even more telling is the prime minister’s defence of the party’s newest recruit. Narendra Modi has chosen Ms Thakur for, according to him, the Opposition will have to pay dearly for having accused the Hindu civilization of terror. This is a frightening inversion. Accusing an individual is not accusing a civilization; besides, Ms Thakur’s case is being processed under the law. Is the law Opposition? By flaunting her as a Lok Sabha candidate, the prime minister and his party are indirectly proclaiming her innocence — still unproven in court — and suggestively glorifying her for what she allegedly has not done. What else qualifies her as a BJP candidate? But even for the BJP, it is a bit of a stretch to imagine Ms Thakur as part of any civilized life, let alone a whole civilization. II. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/eight-ex-dgps-come-out-strongly-against-sadhvi-pragya-thakur-despicable-comments-on-karkare-5687269/?fbclid=IwAR16mOZuzZZJfbVh3qfMt4RITrbB3s4WjXBqnYpaNHwI1MhvFkFveI_Yobw Eight ex-DGPs come out strongly against Pragya’s ‘despicable’ comments on Karkare In a statement, the former DGPs said the country owes Karkare, who headed the Maharashtra ATS and was killed during the 26/11 terror attack, a huge debt of gratitude and anything that detracts from this is worthy of strong condemnation. By PTI |New Delhi | Published: April 21, 2019 10:07:27 pm BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Pragya Thakur (Source: ANI/File) Eight former top police officers Sunday strongly condemned the “despicable” remark of BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Pragya Singh Thakur that her “curse” killed Hemant Karkare, and demanded those who laid down their lives for the country be respected. In a statement, the former DGPs said the country owes Karkare, who headed the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad and was killed during the 26/11 terror attack, a huge debt of gratitude and anything that detracts from this is worthy of strong condemnation. “This despicable and regrettable statement of Pragya Thakur only serves to highlight the need to publicly recognise the supreme sacrifice made by the 35,000 police personnel from all corners of India who since Independence have laid down their lives in the line of duty,” the statement said. Those who signed the statement include: former Punjab DGP Julio Ribeiro, former BSF chief and UP and Assam DGP Prakash Singh, former Kerala DGPs PKH Tharakan and Jacob Punoose, former National Police Academy (Hyderabad) DGP Kamal Kumar, former Maharashtra DGP Sanjeev Dayal, former Assam DGP and NSG DG Jayanto N. Choudhury, and N Ramachandran, ex-DGP Meghalaya. The former police officers said Sadhvi Pragya, a contestant from the Bhopal constituency, made some unfortunate remarks referring to the late Karkare. She has since retracted. “Karkare would probably be alive today had he not volunteered to return to the Maharashtra cadre from a plum posting at the Centre with the specific intention of working with the Anti-Terror Squad to prevent and investigate the activities of terrorists so that the rest of us could sleep safe in our beds,” the statement said. The former police officers said the brave policemen and women have unflinchingly answered the call of duty, even offering the ultimate sacrifice, despite being under-resourced and often working 24×7 in the most challenging conditions. “As former DGPs from across the country, we urge all candidates in these Lok Sabha elections to seek out and honour the families of these martyrs who live in their constituencies. “We also urge them to commit, to engaging with every effort to improve the delivery of policing services to their constituents.” Addressing BJP workers in Bhopal last week, Thakur had claimed that Karkare died during the attack as she had “cursed” him for “torturing” her when he probed the Malegaon blast case as the chief of the ATS. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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