On Wednesday, December 28, an FIR was registered against BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur at Kote Police Station in Karnataka’s Shivamogga over her ‘controversial speech’ at the southern region annual convention of Hindu Jagran Vedike.
On December 25, the Lok Sabha MP from Bhopal, while addressing a gathering of Hindu activists said that Hindus have the right to retaliate against those who attack Hindus and their dignity.
While recalling the brutal murder of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha, Pragya Thakur said that Harsha and several other activists from the Bajrang Dal, Bhartiya Janata Party and its youth wing Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) have been killed with knives. She had urged the crowd to sharpen their vegetable knives to give a befitting response to those who dare to attack them.
“Keep your daughters protected. Keep firearms in your homes. Keep the knives used to chop vegetables sharp, if nothing else. If our vegetables will be cut properly, the heads of our enemies will also be cut well. I’m not sure when or what situation will come up. Everyone has the right to self-defence. We have the right to respond appropriately if someone breaks into our home and attacks us,” Thakur said.
On the basis of a complaint made by HS Sundaresh, the president of the Shivamogga District Congress Committee, the FIR was filed in accordance with sections 153A, 153B, 268, 295A, 298, 504, and 508 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Notably, a 26-year-old Hindu activist named Harsha was brutally murdered on February 22, 2022, in Shivamogga. Tailor by occupation, Harsha was a member of the Hindu organization Bajrang Dal, and was seen sporting saffron shawls in some demonstrations amidst the Karnataka Hijab Row to demand a uniform dress code in educational institutions.