EC bans BJP candidate Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from campaigning for 72 hours

The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday banned BJP candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from campaigning for 72 hours over her several remarks, news agency ANI reported.

The ban will be implemented at 6 am on Thursday for her remarks that she is proud of the Babri Masjid demolition and also on comments on former Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare. These remarks were found violative of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

Reacting to the EC order she said, "Koi baat nahi, main toh uska samman karti hoon. (It is not a problem, I respect it (EC)."

The 48-year-old right-wing activist, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has been in the eye of a storm after Bharatiya Janata Party fielded her from Bhopal against Congress veteran and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh. 

A controversy broke out on her statement on Karkare, who died in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. She allegedly claimed that Karkare died during the terror attacks as she "cursed" him for "torturing" her when he probed the blast case as chief of the Anti- Terrorism Squad (ATS). 
Pragya had apologised for her statement against the slain IPS officer. 

Thakur also claimed that she was "proud" of her participation in the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in 1992 in an interview on television. The EC had issued a show-cause notice to Thakur in both the cases. 

The EC had also served a third notice to Thakur for calling Congress' Digvijaya Singh a “terrorist.” During an election campaign in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore, Thakur had allegedly said that a sanyasi (ascetic) is needed to eliminate a “terrorist”. The EC has asked for a comprehensive report from the Collector on her statements.