Better if Pragya Thakur's nomination had been cancelled: Digvijay Singh

Congress candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat Digvijay Singh welcomed the Election Commission's order barring his BJP rival Pragya Singh Thakur from campaigning for 72 hours.

It would have been better if her nomination had been cancelled, he said, reacting to the development.

"The EC's decision is welcome," he said on Twitter.

"It is natural when the BJP fields (a person) accused of terrorism and those (who) indulge in the politics of communal hatred. It would be better had the nomination of such candidates was cancelled for safeguarding the ideals of democratic values," he tweeted.

While Thakur herself could not be contacted for reaction, Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson Rajnish Agrawal said his party follows the Election Commission's decisions.

It will, nevertheless, study the order and take a call on whether it should be challenged, he said. According to a BJP source, after her statements on former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare and Babri mosque demolition created controversies, the party asked Thakur not to make controversial statements.

However, she was given a go-ahead to talk about the alleged torture she suffered in the ATS custody, the source claimed.

The EC Wednesday barred Thakur from campaigning for 72 hours for her remarks on Karkare and Babri mosque demolition. The ban would come into force from 6.00 AM, May 2 (Thursday).

Thakur, a Malegaon blast accused, had said Karkare was killed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack because of her "curse" as he "tortured" her when he probed the case as chief of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

She had also said that she was "proud" of her participation in the demolition of the Babri mosque at Ayodhya in 1992.