What Is the BJP Trying to Say With Sadhvi Pragya’s Nomination?

Why has the BJP fielded Sadhvi Pragya from Bhopal when she is still facing trial on terror charges?

(Photo: The Quint)

The BJP fielded Sadhvi Pragya as its candidate from a city like Bhopal, which has an immensely diverse culture, on 18 April, despite her facing terror charges.

In this episode of The Big Story podcast, we talk about Sadhvi Pragya and how she came to be accused of terrorism in the 2008 Malegaon blast. Tune in!

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur is a post-graduate in history. She’s worked for ABVP and Durga Vahini – which is a Hindu extremist group for women. Without getting too far into the details of Durga Vahini, they have military combat training for young girls and, simply put, promote Hindu supremacy.

Sadhvi Pragya became a known face overnight when she got arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in a blast case where six people got killed and 100 got injured near a mosque in Malegaon in 2008. She was charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act or MCOCA

Hemant Karkare, who was investigating this case, traced the blast to Sadhvi’s motorcycle where the explosives were found, and that’s how she came into the picture. There were confessions, interceptions of conversations proving Sadhvi's role, and also hints that this was a conspiracy to retaliate against jihadist attacks.

The investigation was shifted to NIA in 2011, and what do you think happened? Long story short, in 2016, they say the initial investigation was fudged – they dropped all charges under MCOCA. Consequently, she got of jail in 2017, but she's facing trial under charges of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

And now she’s facing Congress’ Digvijay Singh from Bhopal – where the BJP seldom loses. But there's a keyword in this fight — Hindu terror. This term has been used to describe acts of violence motivated by Hindu nationalism. Chidambaram has used it, and some other Congress leaders also used it. The BJP, in turn, has accused the Congress of defaming Hindus and India. “Hindu terror” or not, there are cases of violence that have been done in the name of Hindu nationalism, like the Samjhauta express, the Ajmer Dargah, the Mecca Masjid Blast, and more recently, lynchings.

So, what message is the BJP sending the people by nominating a woman against whom there are terror charges in this election?