People like Pragya are killing soul of India: Kailash Satyarthi

In a tweet in Hindi, the Nobel laureate said,"Godse only assassinated Gandhi's body. But people like Pragya are killing his soul along with non-violence, peace and tolerance and killing the soul of India.. Gandhi is above every party and politics. The BJP leadership must renounce the desire for small benefits and immediately expel her from the party and follow 'raj dharma' (duty of governance)."

His comments came after Malegaon blast accused and BJP's Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Ms Thakur lauded Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as a 'patriot' at an election rally in Madhya Pradesh.

The remarks by Pragya Thakur have evoked strong condemnation from opposition parties, including the Congress.

Strongly condemning remarks made by Ms Thakur glorifying Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as a 'deshbhakt' (patriot), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he will never be able to forgive her for insulting Mahatma Gandhi.

Under fire for her remarks, Ms Thakur tendered an apology and said she respected Mahatma Gandhi as his work for the country cannot be forgotten.

Pragya Thakur, contesting the national election from Bhopal, had earlier received strong endorsement from Mr Modi when the opposition had attacked the BJP for fielding the Malegaon blast accused.