PC Chacko praises Yasin Malik for his ‘courage’, targets Sadhvi Pragya

PC Chacko slams BJP for fielding Sadhvi Pragya from Bhopal

The Congress party has stepped up its attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its decision to field Sadhvi Pragya Thakur from Bhopal. Seeking to chide the BJP, senior Congress leader PC Chacko on Saturday said that Jammu and Kashmir separatist leader Yasin Malik should be appreciated for the courage he has shown in front of the government.

“If Pragya Singh Thakur, a convicted person, an accused person, can contest an election, and in the name of separatism, Delhi is asking him (Yasin Malik) at gunpoint to surrender, anyone with self-respect will react the way he did,” Chacko said.

“The courage he has shown is something which should be appreciated because New Delhi cannot threaten anybody, India is a democracy,” Chacko, who also is the in charge of Congress’ Delhi unit, said.

The Congress leader, however, added that he doesn’t support Yasin Malik’s ideology.

Yasin Malik is the chief of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) which was banned by the Centre last month. He is currently in judicial custody in connection with a terror funding case.

Chacko’s remarks come at a time when the BJP is facing criticism from political opponents for fielding Sadhvi Pragya from Bhopal. She is an accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case and is out on bail on health grounds. She has not been convicted in the case so far.

Defending the decision to name Sadhvi Pragya as BJP’s nominee from Bhopal, party’s secretary Ram Madhav said that she was the ‘right challenger’ for Digvijaya Singh who is in the fray on a Congress ticket.

Madhav also noted that it was Digvijaya who propagated the dubious and mischievous idea of ‘Hindu terror’.

Meanwhile, PDP chief and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti has cited Sadhvi Pragya’s example to ask the Centre to release Malik.