Pragya Thakur, Bhopal BJP MP Lok Sabha, said on Sunday that a ‘shudra’ (the fourth and lowest of the traditional varnas according to scripture) “feels bad when called shudra because it is ignorant and for lack of understanding”.
Famous for her frequent controversial remarks, the 2008 Malegaon blast defendant was addressing a Kshatriya Mahasabha meeting when she said: “A kshatriya doesn’t feel bad if we call them kshatriya. A brahmin does not feel bad if we call him a brahmin. A vaishya does not feel bad if we call him a vaishya. But a shudra feels bad if we call them shudra, what is the reason? Because they are ignorant, they don’t understand ”.
Furthermore, Thakur asked the women of Kshatriya “to father more and more children to join the Armed Forces so that they can fight for the nation and strengthen its security.”
Thakur, who is no stranger to courtship controversies, said the reservation should be based on “the economic base to benefit the poor, allowing them to live a better life, not along caste lines.”
Meanwhile, on the ongoing farmer protests, the BJP deputy said that the protesters “are not farmers, but congressmen and leftists.” “Those who have been protesting on behalf of farmers are anti-national. They are not farmers, but congressmen and leftists disguised as farmers raising their voices against the country and spreading misinformation, as they did during Shaheen Bagh’s protest against the new citizenship law, “he said.
In another controversial comment, Thakur demanded that a law be made to control the population of “anti-nationals”. “There has to be a law to control population growth for those who indulge in anti-national activities … it should not apply to those who live for the nation,” he said.
Thakur, who defeated former Parliament Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh by more than 3.64 lakh votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, has regularly remained in the news for her provocative remarks.
Despite a reprimand in May last year from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thakur continues to make controversial comments on sensitive issues. Thakur referred to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin, Nathuram Godse, as a deshbhakt (patriot) during a debate in Lok Sabha, prompting a protest from members of the opposition.
PM Modi later commented that while she may have apologized for her comments, he could never personally forgive her.
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