india

Updated: May 17, 2019 18:21 IST

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Friday described BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha candidate Pragya Singh Thakur’s apology for calling Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin a “patriot” an “eyewash”.

“The apology she has made, at the behest of the BJP, is an eyewash confirming that she adheres to her position,” a CPI-M statement said.

Pragya Thakur came under widespread criticism after describing Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse as a “deshbakht”.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi described her as ‘a symbol of India’s civilizational heritage’,” the statement said. “By fielding her, the RSS-BJP were seeking to whip up communal polarization and consolidate the ‘Hindutva communal vote bank’.

“This reflects the RSS-BJP attitude towards terrorism, a terror accused and the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.”