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Video Editor: Veeru Mohan
“I never expected anything better from Pragya Thakur,” says former Mumbai police Commissioner and DG of Punjab police Julio Ribeiro just over a week after the BJP’s Bhopal candidate’s remark against martyr Hemant Karkare, kicked up a furore.
While addressing a rally, Pragya Thakur, who is an accused in the Malegaon blast case, had claimed that she had cursed Karkare, who was heading the investigation in the case, leading to his death in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Reacting to Thakur’s remarks, Ribeiro questions BJP’s decision to grant her a ticket to contest the polls.
Ribeiro said that he knew Karkare personally, “He was a very, very fine officer and certainly not someone who would do the kind of things that Pragya Thakur is now alleging against him,” he added.
Recalling that Pragya Thakur was earlier booked by the Madhya Pradesh authorities for alleged involvement in the murder case of RSS activist Sunil Joshi in 2007, Ribeiro questioned the BJP’s decision to allow more and more ‘extremist’ candidates to contest from across the country.
“I don’t know what is happening to our country. It is such a good county. I grieve for our future generations,” he added.
The recent slew of remarks by many BJP leaders who referred to the armed forces as ‘Modi’s Army’ and ‘Modi’s Air Force’ could affect the morale of the armed forces, believes Ribeiro.
While UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s explanation on referring to the Indian Army as "Modi ji ki sena" was rejected by the Election Commission, Amit Shah’s recent comment stating, “Narendra Modi ordered his Air Force” too has sparked outrage.
The former Mumbai CP states that he has never seen this happen before.
However, he adds that the election commission should have taken a stronger stand against such remarks. “The election commission could have acted much more forcibly but they are afraid to do so because Mr Modi is rather quite a threatening figure,” he adds.
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