BJP reprimands Pragya Thakur for 'not elected to clean drains' remark

The BJP on Monday reprimanded its Lok Sabha lawmaker Pragya Singh Thakur for her controversial remarks on 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' and instructed her not to give such statements in the future, said sources.

The parliamentarian from Bhopal, Thakur, had arrived at the party's office in Delhi earlier today to meet BJP working president JP Nadda and BJP general secretary (orgzation) BL Santhosh.

Thakur had on Sunday stoked a controversy by asserting that she has not been elected as Member of Parliament to clean toilets and drains.

Thinking otherwise when all NDA ministers are spreading awareness about India's largest cleanliness campaign, Thakur had said, "We were not elected to get your drains cleaned. We were not made to get your toilets cleaned. We will do all the work for which we have been elected."

Her comment came in response to a grievance raised by a BJP worker in Sehore over the issues faced by people due to lack of cleanliness and hygiene in the area.

Earlier on Monday, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi hit out at Thakur for her remarks, saying "Pragya Singh Thakur has opposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cleanliness programme by stating that she was not elected to get the people's toilets cleaned.

"I am not surprised by her obnoxious statement. She is known for her discriminatory statements. This is her thought process and it is very unfortunate. Also, she has openly opposed the Prime Minister's programme," he told reporters here.

Pragya Thakur, who successfully contested the Lok Sabha elections against senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal constituency, has been in news several times in the recent past for making controversial statements, including that on former Maharashtra ATS Chief Hemant Karkare and for terming Mahatma Gandhi assassin Nathuram Godse as a patriot.

( With inputs from ANI )