No question of calling Godse 'patriot': Rajnath

A day after BJP's Pragya Thakur made controversial remarks on Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said there is no question of calling Godse a "patriot", and BJP even rejects such thinking.

The Defence Minister clarified in the Lok Sabha that Gandhi was the ideal then and will continue to be regarded so in the future as well.

"There is no question of calling Nathu Ram Godse a patriot. We even reject such thinking if anyone pursues it. Mahatma Gandhi's ideals would always be appreciable. His thinking was highly regarded at that time and it is still honoured. His thinking would also be ideal in the coming future too," Singh said.

The Minister said that Gandhi was "our Path Pradarshak (guiding light) in the past and he will be a Path Pradarshak in future".

Rajnath Singh's response came after Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury raised Sadhvi Pragya Takhur's remark soon after the House assembled for the day.

After the Minister's response though Congress staged a walkout from the House.

Chowdhury said it is very "condemnable if any person calls Mahatma Gandhi's killer a patriot".

Thakur on Wednesday sparked row with an interjection during DMK leader A. Raja's reference to Godse in Lok Sabha which was later expunged from the record. The issue later triggered a protest by the Opposition.

Raja had cited a statement on Godse on why he killed Gandhi during a discussion on the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019, to which Thakur reacted.IANS