The BJP's Bhopal candidate, Pragya Singh Thakur, took to a ‘temple run’ on Thursday after a 72-hour ban on campaigning imposed by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
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She filed a review petition with the ECI, tendering ‘unconditional apology’, assuring no violation of the model code of conduct. She sought to end the 72-hour campaign ban, reducing it to the minimum of 12 hours.
The review petition repeatedly mentions that the ECI "did not consider the fact that she was a woman, an ascetic who underwent severe pain in custody and jail for nine years".
The poll panel barred Thakur from campaigning after her controversial remarks on the Babri demolition and 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare. On the directives of the ECI last week, the Bhopal police had registered an FIR.
Temple Run
The sadhvi, who is a ‘mahamandaleshwari’ after undergoing religious rituals during the Ardh Kumbh in Allahabad earlier this year, reached the Bhawani Mata Temple at Peer Gate in Bhopal on Thursday morning. After performing aarti, she also sang bhajans (devotional songs) in the presence of other BJP leaders.
Later, she went to the Gufa Mandir at Lal Ghati and also to a nearby gaushala (cow shelter), where she offered fodder to the cows and calves.
While imposing the ban on Wednesday evening, the commission had "strongly condemned" Pragya Thakur’s remarks and warned her "not to repeat the misconduct in the future".
The EC said though Thakur had apologised for her statement against the slain IPS officer, it found the statement to be ‘unwarranted’.
Pragya Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blast case of September 2008, got herself embroiled in a series of controversies after she was announced the BJP Bhopal candidate. Her comment that former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare was killed due to her curse, as he had tortured her in custody evoked sharp reactions.
Thakur is pitted against Congress stalwart Digvijaya Singh in Bhopal, where polling will be held on May 12.