“BJP considers him a martyr,” the party said in a statement seen as a response to a barrage of criticism from the opposition that accused the BJP candidate of belittling the senior officer’s supreme sacrifice. The Indian Police Service Association had also condemned Pragya Thakur’s “insulting statement” and demanded that “sacrifices of all our martyrs be respected”. Also watch: ‘ATS chief Hemant Karkare died after I cursed him’: Sadhvi Pragya sparks rowThakur, while addressing a press conference in Bhopal on Thursday, accused Karkare of torturing her and said: “He tortured me... The party’s state spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal had earlier declined comment, underlining that “what she is saying is from her personal experience”. The state chief electoral officer VL Kantha Rao said: “Congress lodged a complaint against BJP candidate from Bhopal Pragya Thakur for her comments on former ATS chief Hemant Karkare.

Source: Hindustan Times April 19, 2019 12:20 UTC