“Cut them in half”: Pragya Thakur urges keeping sharp weapons at home, calls for Muslim boycott
Bhopal: Former Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur, infamous for making provocative statements, recently urged Hindu women and girls to shun Muslim men and to refuse them entry even for routine household repairs.
Speaking at a Durga Vahini (Vishwa Hindu Parishad women’s wing) Navratri event in Bhopal on Sunday, Thakur made a string of explicit appeals and directives aimed at segregating everyday interactions between Hindus and Muslims. Her comments come nearly two months after a special court in Mumbai acquitted her in connection with the 2007 Malegaon blast case.
“There is no brother-sister bond in Miyas (Muslims). If they don’t respect their own sisters, how can they respect you as their sister? Muslim men are looking to deceive and trap Hindu women and girls. Don’t ever become sisters of Muslims,” The New Indian Express quoted Thakur as saying.
Thakur urged women to take a vow “not to allow vidharmis in your home,” warning against permitting Muslim men to carry out work such as light fittings, plumbing repairs or driving family vehicles. “All our women and girls should take a vow of not falling into the trap of vidharmis,” she said, and called for organised efforts to “rescue from their clutches our women and girls who have already been trapped.”
Further escalating her rhetoric, she asserted that sharp weapons should be kept at home. "When our daughters are abducted and their bodies are thrown on the road, it causes immense pain. To release that pain, when the enemy comes, they should be cut in half," NDTV quoted Thakur as saying.
Thakur went further to call for economic and social boycotts of minorities. She urged devotees to avoid consuming edible products prepared by non-Hindus, to form groups that would identify shops run by Muslims near temples, and to report such vendors. In a particularly inflammatory passage, she said that non-Hindu vendors selling prasad near temples “should be thrashed and handed over to the law enforcement,” language that invites violence against a religious community.
The comments have sparked strong political backlash. Umang Singhar, Leader of the Opposition in Madhya Pradesh, condemned Thakur's remarks as "objectionable" and accused the BJP of intentionally fueling communal tensions to distract from more pressing issues.
"The BJP accuses others of playing Hindu-Muslim politics, but its own leaders make such provocative statements from public platforms. Pragya Thakur is a repeat offender. At a time when Madhya Pradesh is grappling with unemployment, inflation, and recruitment scams, the BJP uses such rhetoric to mislead the public," NDTV quoted Singhar as saying.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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