BJP Gags Pragya Thakur After ‘Marak Shakti’ Remark Following Arun Jaitley’s Death

The BJP leadership has told MP Pragya Thakur, known for controversial remarks, to stop speaking to the media on any subject after a string of gaffes, according to sources. She has reportedly also been asked not to speak at state BJP events for now, though it is unclear whether the restriction covers her tweets.

The latest remark

Earlier this week, at a condolence meeting held by the Madhya Pradesh BJP in memory of Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Babulal Gaur, Thakur alleged that the Opposition had used “marak shakti” to harm them.

She said that during her Lok Sabha campaign a ‘Maharaj ji’ had warned her that the Opposition was using such a force against the BJP. Seeing senior leaders die one after another, she said, she was now forced to wonder whether he had been right.

The comments, made while Jaitley’s family was still mourning, embarrassed the party leadership. The informal action followed a complaint to the central leadership from a section of the BJP’s Madhya Pradesh unit.

Earlier controversies

Her statements have repeatedly embarrassed the party since she was named a Lok Sabha candidate earlier this year. She had earlier caused an uproar by calling Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse “a patriot”. The Prime Minister then said he would never forgive her for the remark.

She later apologised and withdrew it, but party president Amit Shah described it as fit for disciplinary action and that the statements had been sent to a disciplinary committee. A senior BJP leader said he knew of proceedings against her in one case, while a decision in another was still pending with Shah.

See also: Bharatiya Janata Party, Lok Sabha members.

Originally published on 30 August 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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