EC bans Pragya Thakur from campaigning for 72 hours for Karkare, Babri remarks

The Election Commission on Wednesday banned BJP’s Bhopal candidate Pragya Thakur from campaigning for 72 hours over her remarks on the death of Hemant Karkare in the Mumbai attacks as well as her remarks on the Babri Masjid demolition.
In its order, the Election Commission said that though Pragya Thakur had apologised for her remarks and had provided the explanations as asked for, it did not find them satisfactory and found that she had violated the provisions of the Model Code of conduct by making the statement regarding the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
“…the Commission has carefully gone through the contents and averments made in the aforesaid reply of Sadhavi Pragya Singh Thakur and found it provocative and also on religious lines that have the propensity of spreading hatred among various communities…,” the Election Commission said in its order.
“Commission has barred her from holding any public meetings, public processions, public rallies, road shows and interviews, public utterances in media (Electronic, print, social media)in connection with ongoing elections for 72 hours starting 6 am on 2 May 2019,” the order said.
Sadhvi Pragya Thakur had triggered nationwide outrage after her comments that former Mumbai anti-terror squad chief Hemant Karkare died during the 26/11 attacks as a result of her “curse”. Thakur is among the main accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts and is also the BJP’s candidate from Bhopal. Hemant Karkare was killed in the line of duty during the 26/11 attack on Mumbai.
“He would ask me how and why it [Malegaon blasts] happened and I used to reply that only God knows… He hurled abuses on me, harassed me, insulted me a lot,” she had said in an address to party wokrers in Bhopal. “Maine kaha, tera sarvnash hoga [I said, may you perish],” she added.
A day later, she apologised for her comments saying, “I felt that the enemies of the country were being benefited from it, therefore I take back my statement and apologise for it, it was my personal pain. He [Karkare] died from the bullets of terrorists from the enemy country, he is certainly a martyr.”
Later, she had triggered another controversy when she claimed in a television interview that she was “proud of her role in the demolition of the Babri Masjid” in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya. She was booked by police for violating the model code of conduct.