Pragya Thakur calls Godse 'patriot', apologises later & retracts statement
Bhopal: BJP's Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate and Malegaon blast accused Pragya Singh Thakur Thursday kicked up a row as she called Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse a "patriot", but apologised for it hours later and withdrew the statement.
The BJP distanced itself from her statement saying it did not agree with her, as "Mahatma Gandhi's killer cannot be a patriot". This is the second time in a month that Pragya Singh has apologised for a controversial statement made by her.
Last month, she had stoked a controversy when she said that IPS officer Hemant Karkare had died during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as she had "cursed" him for torturing her. She had apologised for the controversial remark later and also retracted that statement.
Talking to a news channel in Agar Malwa in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday afternoon, Thakur said, "Nathuram Godse was a 'deshbhakt' (patriot), he is and will remain a 'deshbhakt'. Those calling him a terrorist should instead look at themselves. They will be given a befitting reply in this election."
She said this in response to a question over actor- turned politician Kamal Haasan's remark that free India's first terrorist was a Hindu", a reference to Nathuram Godse.
Pragya Singh was in Agar Malwa to take part in a road-show of Mahendra Solanki, BJP's candidate from Dewas Lok Sabha seat.
Hours later, her spokesperson and BJP leader Dr Hitesh Bajpai said that she has apologised for her remark. "Pragyaji has apologised for her statement," Bajpai told PTI.
When asked whether she has apologised to the state BJP president, Rakesh Singh, Bajpai said, "That is not an issue, but she has apologised and took back her statement."
The Madhya Pradesh BJP distanced itself from her statement. "BJP does not agree with her statement. The party will talk to her under what circumstances she gave the statement.
One who killed Mahatma Gandhi can't be a deshbhakt," state BJP media cell in-charge Lokendra Parashar said.
Condemning her statement, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said in Ujjain that praising Godse was not patriotism, but an "anti-national" act.
He also demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah over her remarks.
"Narendra Modi ji, Amit Shah ji and BJP leaders from Madhya Pradesh should apologise to the country. I condemn the words used against the Father of the Nation. Nathuram Godse was a killer and eulogising him is not patriotism, but an anti-national act," the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister told reporters in Ujjain.
Kamal Haasan, while addressing an election campaign rally at Aravakurichi (Tamil Nadu) on May 12, had said, "I am not saying this because this is a Muslim-dominated area, but I am saying this before a statue of Gandhi. Free India's first terrorist was a Hindu, his name is Nathuram Godse. There it (terrorism, apparently) starts.
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Union government assumes full control over TV ratings, TRAI role curtailed: Report
New Delhi: The Union government has assumed full control over television audience measurement, removing the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from oversight of the ratings system that underpins the country’s ₹36,000 crore television advertising market, according to a report published on Wednesday.
The report in Mint said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) now has exclusive authority over the framework governing how television ratings are measured and regulated. TRAI had been entrusted with oversight of TV ratings in 2012 during the UPA government’s tenure. TRAI is no longer mentioned in the relevant policy document, effectively vesting sole authority in the MIB.
The report said TRAI will continue to regulate other aspects of broadcasting, including channel pricing, advertising caps, interconnection and distribution norms, service quality and compliance standards. Its role in determining how ratings agencies track viewing behaviour has been withdrawn.
Television Rating Points (TRPs), which reflect viewership patterns, guide advertisers in deciding where to allocate spending across channels and time slots.
A government source quoted in the report said the ministry could modify TRAI’s decisions even when the regulator oversaw broadcasting.
A former CEO of Prasar Bharati told the newspaper that the MIB has historically regulated rating agencies through licensing and guidelines, and by holding them accountable under existing norms.
During its tenure overseeing ratings, TRAI had taken decisions affecting the broadcast sector, which included capping advertising time at 12 minutes per hour following complaints about excessive commercial breaks and it now remains unclear how these matters will be addressed under the revised arrangement.
Satya N. Gupta, former principal advisor at TRAI, was quoted as saying that merging regulatory functions with policy oversight and removing an independent regulator from the process was a retrograde step.
TRAI’s involvement in broadcasting had earlier attracted criticism as well. In 2012, its consultation paper on quantitative limits on television advertising was viewed by some as overlapping with the Advertising Standards Council of India’s code. Subsequent recommendations covering television audience measurement, ownership of news channels and issues such as paid news had also raised concerns among sections of the industry.
Television ratings have faced scrutiny in recent years, including during the controversy involving the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), where officials of the ratings body were prosecuted over allegations of manipulation of viewership data.
