Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has stirred a new controversy by saying madrasas “do not produce people like Nathuram Godse or Pragya Singh Thakur”, referring to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin and the BJP lawmaker in the same breath.
Azam Khan, who is prone to making highly contentious comments, had been asked on Tuesday to respond to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new plan to connect madrasas to mainstream education.
“Madrasas don’t breed those of Nathuram Godse’s nature or with a personality like Pragya Thakur’s. First announce that those propagating thoughts of Nathuram Godse will be declared enemies of democracy, those convicted for terror activities won’t be rewarded,” said Azam Khan.
Pragya Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts and out on bail, won last month’s election from Bhopal as a BJP candidate. She remained in the news throughout her campaign over provocative statements, including that Nathuram Godse, who killed Gandhi in 1948, was a “patriot”.
Azam Khan said if the central government wanted to help madrasas, then they should bring improvements in them.
