Mumbai:

A special court in Mumbai on Wednesday stayed the execution of a bailable warrant issued against BJP Lok Sabha MP Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case of Maharashtra after it was informed that she had taken ill and admitted to a hospital here for treatment.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court also noted that the warrant was not served on Thakur and directed her to appear before it on March 27 for a recording statement.

The court had on March 11 issued a bailable warrant of Rs 10,000 against the Lok Sabha member from Bhopal for failing to appear before it despite repeated warnings.

Special Judge A K Lahoti had then directed Thakur to appear before it on March 20 and get the warrant cancelled.

The Hindutva activist, however, did not appear before the court on the given date.

On Wednesday, Thakur’s advocate J P Mishra filed an application seeking a stay on the warrant issued against her.

He informed the judge that Thakur had come to Mumbai to attend the court hearing, but had to be admitted in a hospital as she fell ill after alighting at the city airport.

The judge, in his order, noted that the bailable warrant issued against the parliamentarian on March 11 was not yet served on her.

“Considering the reasons put forth in the application, the execution of the bailable warrant is hereby stayed till accused (Thakur) gets discharged from the hospital,” the court said.

The court has now directed the Lok Sabha MP to appear before it on March 27 for recording her final statement under provisions of section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (dealing with power to examine accused).

A bailable warrant is a direction that if the person arrested executes a bail with sufficient sureties for attendance before the court, he/she may be released from custody.

Thakur and six others are facing trial in the more than 15-year-old case under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), an anti-terror law, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The NIA court trying the case is currently recording statements of the accused under the CrPC.

Six people were killed and more than 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad initially probed the case before it was transferred to the NIA in 2011. 

New Delhi:

As the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates for Lok Sabha polls, some omissions stood out more than the names that made it to the list. These include firebrand leader Pragya Thakur and sitting MPs from Delhi, Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma and Ramesh Bidhuri.

The three leaders have made headlines for their controversial remarks inside and outside Parliament, and the BJP’s move to drop them sends a message that the party is taking no chances ahead of an election in which it faces a joint Opposition.

In Bhopal, the BJP has replaced Pragya Thakur with Alok Sharma. An accused in the 2008 Malegaon bombings case, the firebrand leader’s nomination last time had sparked a huge row. The five years since then have seen her getting caught in several controversies. Out on bail on health grounds, Ms Thakur has been seen playing kabaddi and attending garba nights. But the controversy that may have harmed her the most is a statement in which she called Nathuram Godse, the man who shot Mahatma Gandhi dead, a “patriot”.

The remark drew a stern response from none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The remarks made about Gandhiji or Nathuram Godse are very bad and very wrong for society. She has sought an apology, but I would never be able to forgive her fully,” he said. Five years on, Ms Thakur has lost her seat.

Ms Thakur was at the centre of another row for her remarks on former Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who died during the 2008 terror attacks. She had said he was killed because of her “curse”. Party sources said the firebrand leader was not active in her constituency, and that played a key role in her being dropped.   

A key omission in the BJP list that surprised many was West Delhi MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma. A two-time MP and son of former Chief Minister, late Sahib Singh Verma, he is known to have a strong support base. But the 46-year-old leader has been in the news for his inciting remarks.

Ahead of the 2020 Delhi elections, Mr Verma had made controversial remarks during the Shaheen Bagh protest and said the demonstrators would be cleared in an hour if the BJP came to power in the national capital. 

In 2022, Mr Verma hit headlines again, this time for a public boycott call seemingly aimed at Muslims. “Wherever you see them, if you want to fix their head, if you want to set them straight, then the only cure is total boycott. Raise your hand if you agree,” the BJP MP had said.

Going into the 2024 polls, the BJP has its goals clear. It wants to keep the focus on Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Viksit Bharat @2047’ call and does not want its leaders to make statements that serve as fodder for the Opposition and embarrass the ruling party.

Another MP who may have been axed for his remarks is South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri. During a discussion in Lok Sabha in September last year, Mr Bidhuri used Islamophobic slurs for Amroha MP Danish Ali. The derogatory remarks were caught on camera and sparked a huge row. While the South Delhi MP later apologised, the BJP’s first list shows it was not enough.

The other prominent Delhi MPs who have been dropped include Meenakshi Lekhi and Harsh Vardhan. The BJP, which had won every seat in the national capital in the 2019 polls, faces a joint Opposition this time. While the AAP is contesting four seats, the Congress is fighting three. BJP stalwart late Sushma Swaraj’s daughter and lawyer Bansuri has been fielded from New Delhi.

Sources in the BJP said various factors are considered during selection of candidates. “Winnability is very important. Many MPs, it was found, were unpopular in their constituencies,” a party leader said.

“But there is no doubt that leaders such as Pragya Thakur, Ramesh Bidhuri and Parvesh Verma embarrassed the party with their provocative statements. Denial of tickets to them also sends a message that in public life, decorum has to be maintained. In the past, the Prime Minister had warned the party leaders on several occasions that they should not make controversial statements,” the BJP leader added.

A total of 33 sitting MPs have not made it to the BJP’s first list of 195 candidates. Among the big names that have made it to the poll arena are former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.