Pragya Thakur Gets Court Notice Over Plea Challenging Her Election on Grounds of 'Corrupt Practices'

Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday issued a notice to BJP Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur on a petition challenging her election to the Lok Sabha, the petitioner's lawyer said.

The petition seeks to set aside her election on the grounds that she allegedly adopted "corrupt practices" and whipped up communal passions during the campaign.

Rakesh Dixit, a journalist, has filed the petition in his capacity as a voter registered in Bhopal.

Dixit’s lawyer, Arvind Srivastava, said in the petition, his client has accused Thakur of contesting Lok Sabha election while fanning communal sentiments and levelling baseless allegations against her Congress opponent Digvijaya Singh.

The petitioner has also submitted videos containing Thakur’s ‘inflammatory’ statements, including the one in which she confessed her involvement in Babri demolition. “We have also furnished details of newspaper reports on her objectionable speeches and details of the 72-hour ban placed on her by the Election Commission of India over her objectionable remarks,” said Srivastava.

During the Lok Sabha poll campaign, Thakur violated section 123 (3) (seeking votes on the basis of religion) of the Representation of the People Act, the petition claimed.

She also made false statements against her rival and Congress candidate Digvijay Singh which violated section 123 (4) (making false and defamatory statements about another candidate) of the

Act, the lawyer added.

Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, won from Bhopal, defeating Singh by 3,64,822 votes.