Bhopal: Putting her own party in a difficult spot, BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has alleged that people from three villages in Madhya Pradesh are forced to "sell their daughters" to procure bail money to free the villagers arrested for hooch production in the area.
"I have adopted three villages in the state where people are extremely poor and therefore make and sell raw liquor for a living. When the police take them away, they have to sell their daughters to earn enough money to bail out the arrested villagers," she said. Thakur, who is often in the limelight for her controversial statements, was speaking at an event in Bhopal on Saturday.
Further noting that the people in the village have no means of education or concrete sources of livelihood, the MP said she has tried and provided for around 300 children in these villages by adopting them. The statements have drawn criticism from the Congress, targeting the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' campaign by the BJP.
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Meanwhile, reacting to the comments, Madhya Pradesh home Minister Narottam Mishra denied the authenticity of these claims. "The state government has a very clear stand on this matter - if anything of the sort is actually going on, lawful action will be taken. I am not aware of any such happenings so far, and I don't know what context she has spoken in. I will try to get more clarity on the matter," the minister said.
Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, has made several controversial statements in the past. She had drawn flak for saying that it's because of her 'curse' that Hemant Karkare -- the police officer who was martyred in Mumbai 2008 terrorist attacks -- died. In the Babri Masjid demolition controversy, the MP has said on record that she is proud of the demolition. Moreover, Thakur was also heavily criticized for calling Mahatma Gandhi's murderer Nathuram Godse a "patriot".
