If sangthan permits, I'll fight Digvijaya, says Pragya

BHOPAL: “He ( Digvijaya Singh) should not be allowed to win from here (Bhopal)… Sangthan should choose a strong contestant against someone like him who speaks against the nation,” said Sadhvi Pragya Thakur aka Sadhvi Pragya Bharti.

“I have not made up my mind to join politics yet, but if it’s about taking on someone who calls Hindus terrorists and speaks against the nation, I am ready,” Pragya told TOI when she was asked if she wishes to contest against Digvijayaa Singh in Bhopal for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

“His statements give strength to enemy countries,” she said.

Pragya said the Bhopal candidate should be decided by the sangthan calculatedly. “It’s not my wish, but I think people want me to enter politics. And, if sangthan wants to me to contest, I am more than ready,” she added.

Pragya – who has been acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon case – is in Delhi since Congress made a surprise move fielding Digvijaya from the BJP stronghold since the last three decades.

Buzz is that BJP has been forced to change its strategy following this move. Till Congress had announced Digvijaya’s name, BJP was considering the name of Bhopal mayor Alok Sharma as one of the probable candidates for this seat. They have now switched to former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, say insiders.

Daughter of an ayurveda doctor, who was also a committed RSS worker, Pragya grew up in Bhind district of the Chambal ravines. She was tomboyish in her teens and there was a vigilante side to her too. Pragya, now 48, also loved thrashing molesters in those days.

A post-graduate in history, Pragya was always associated with right-wing organisations. She was a member of the ABVP and was actively involved with the Durga Vahini, the VHP women's wing. As a youth leader, she was noticed for her extremely fiery speeches. In 2002, she set up Jai Vande Mataram Jan Kalyan Samiti.

Under Swami Avadheshanand Giri, a religious guru with considerable following, she recast herself in a new avatar. Later, she founded the Rashtriya Jagran Manch in Indore. During this period, she often moved from one town to another: Jabalpur, Indore and Surat. A motorcycle registered in her name led the ATS to her after the Malegaon blast.

Subsequently, she was picked up in 2008 by ATS Maharashtra . In 2008, Union home minister Rajnath Singh had defended Pragya.

“If there is evidence to prove that saffron groups are involved in terror activities, the police should come out with proofs. Without sufficient evidence there is no reason to label me a terrorist,” she said.

Pragya said, “If Shivraj Shingh Chouhan is fielded from Bhopal then I should be considered for a seat from the Gwalior-Chambal region, because that is my native place.”