Former Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur on Sunday asked Hindu women and girls to avoid Muslim men and even to refuse household help from them, during a Durga Vahini event in Bhopal. Thakur, who was acquitted in the 2007 Malegaon blast case earlier this year, made the remarks while addressing a Shastra Pujan ceremony.
“There is no brother-sister bond in Miyas. If they don’t respect their own sisters, how can they respect you as their sister?” she said, using a term for Muslims. “Don’t ever become sisters of Muslims,” she added.
Thakur urged women to take practical vows to keep Muslim men out of their homes. “I appeal to the Matri Shakti to take a vow not to allow Vidharmis in your home. Don’t allow those men to enter your house for light fitting, repair of water taps, to drive your vehicles or any other work,” she said. She also suggested avoiding food made by Muslim-run shops near temples and said groups should identify such shops. “Once such Vidharmis selling prasad near our temples are caught, they should be thrashed and handed over to the law enforcement,” she said.
At the event she also criticized India’s first prime minister without naming him, saying his leadership had been a mistake.
Thakur’s remarks are the latest in a string of controversial statements she has made in public. The comments are likely to provoke strong reactions given their targeting of a religious community.
