Pragya Thakur

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sadhvi Pragya

• Pragya Thakur is an Indian politician from the BJP and a Member of Parliament from Bhopal.

• Her father was an Ayurvedic doctor in Lahar, Bhind, Madhya Pradesh. Her father was also closely connected to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

• Apart from being an Ayurvedic doctor, her father had also served the government as a “demonstrator” in the agriculture department.

• Under the influence of her father, Pragya joined the RSS and became active in state politics.

• According to her father, she has never watched a single movie. ^[13]Rediff

• During her college days, she was considered a good orator, and her speech used to influence thousands of people. She has also worked in “Durga Vahini” (women’s wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad).

• Pragya decided to remain unmarried and became close to “Saints.” She made her hermitage in Surat, Gujarat and travelled the whole country from there.

• During the polls, she became the star campaigner of BJP. During the tenure of UPA government, she was accused of conspiring a bomb attack in Malegaon and got imprisoned for 9 years. According to her, she was beaten and highly tortured by the Police officers. On this allegation, she said,

“I’m victim of Chidambaram’s ‘saffron terrorism’ bogey.” ^[14]EconomicTimes

• On 19 April 2019, she sparked another controversy by saying that the 26/11 hero Hemant Karkare died because she had “cursed” him. According to her, when she was arrested in the Malegaon Blast case, Hemant was told to leave her; as he had no solid evidence against her, but he refused to do so. She then cursed him, and he was killed in the terrorist attack as a result of the curse.

• On 23 December 2019, she came into the limelight when a video of her went viral on social media. Reportedly, she refused to move from the emergency row, where wheelchair passengers are not allocated seats. When the SpiceJet officials asked her to move, she said that she has paid extra for the seat, “emergency” was not written on the row, and she asked for the rule book. She did not move from the seat, and she delayed the flight by 45 minutes. A video of a fellow passenger who is seen telling her that being an MP she should not trouble the other passengers and asking the officials to remove her from the flight surfaced online.

• In 2024, Pragya criticised the media for purportedly distorting her statements on not being selected as a candidate for the Lok Sabha elections. She said that the media tried to defame her. ^[15]Hindustan Times

• In 2024, she accused BJP MLA Sudesh Rai of operating an illegal liquor store in front of a school in Madhya Pradesh. She further demanded his removal from the post. ^[16]The Indian Express