BJP lawmaker calls Nehru a 'criminal' for granting special status to Occupied Kashmir

Hindu hardliner leader, accused of Malegaon blasts targeting Muslims in 2008, termed Mahatma Gandhi's killer a...

India's terror-accused Hindu-hardliner lawmaker, Pragya Thakur, in a fresh controversy backed the statement made by former chief minister Shivraj Singh against the country's first premier and one of founding member, Jawaharlal Nehru that he was a "criminal" who granted the special status to the people of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

According to NDTV, the BJP leader said on Monday while referring to the former prime minister that "Whoever will hurt our motherland, anyone who tries to break our India, surely is a criminal."

On New Delhi's unlawful decision to scrape Article 370 through rushed a presidential order, she said those opposing the move are not patriotic.

"Those who are happy with the removal of Sections 370 and 35A are proud of our country, those who are proud of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are patriots," she added.

The Modi government on August 5 revoked the special status of Occupied Kashmir in a bid to fully integrate its only Muslim-majority region with the rest of the country.

The opposition, led by the Congress party, has opposed the centre's move, saying the decision was taken without any consultation with all stakeholders.

Thakur, a first-time MP is an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts targeting Muslims, was ordered by the BJP to rein in her views after a huge backlash over her comment that Mahatma Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse was a patriot.

The article originally appeared on NDTV