Godse Row: Pragya Thakur tenders two apologises

New Delhi: An unrelenting opposition forced BJP's Pragya Thakur, under flak for haling Nathuram Godse as a "patriot", to apologise in Lok Sabha for a second time on Friday after rejecting her first apology as "conditional" in which she also attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for calling her a "terrorist".

Tendering her second apology in Lok Sabha following a meeting Speaker Om Birla held with floor leaders of all parties, the Bhopal MP said, "On November 27, during discussion on SPG (Amendment) Bill, I did not call Nathuram Godse a desh bhakt (patriot), I did not even take his name. Still, if someone is hurt, I express my regret and apologise." Before she entered the House, the Speaker had said that Thakur would read out the statement agreed upon at the meeting of different party leaders.

She began her statement by referring to her enemies but was interrupted by the Speaker. She then read out the statement as decided upon earlier, paving the way for normal business to resume. Her first apology was panned by opposition parties for its reference to other issues, as they insisted on an unconditional apology.

Thakur had created a row on Wednesday with her remark in the Lower House during DMK member A Raja's narration of a statement by Godse before a court on why he killed Gandhi.

The Congress-led the opposition charged against her with Rahul Gandhi accusing her of being a "terrorist" and claiming that her comments represented the "heart and soul" of the saffron party and its ideological mentor RSS.

Outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi brushed aside Thakur's attack on him and asserted that he stood by his remarks accusing her of being a "terrorist". He said he was ready to face any action. He also claimed that Thakur believes in violence, the way Nathuram Godse did. "Yes, I stand by my statement. What I have written on Twitter, I stand by it. Yes," he told reporters.