May 16 (AZINS) Pragya Singh has tendered an apology for calling Nathuram Godse a patriot, reports say. The apology came after the BJP distanced itself from the remarks made by its candidate for the Bhopal constituency and demanded a public apology.

Thakur tendered an apology to BJP in-charge for Madhya Pradesh, The Indian Express reported. She further added that she had made the remarks in a 'personal capacity'.

Earlier on Thursday, Pragya Singh said Nathuram Godse, the man who assassinated Mohandas Gandhi, was and will remain a patriot. She had added that those who were referring to him as a terrorist would be taught a lesson in the elections. Her remarks had come in response to a statement by Tamil actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan that Godse was independent India's first terrorist.

Her remarks were counter-controversy to the row already raging over Kamal Haasan's comments at a rally in Tamil Nadu. Her remarks quickly drew sharp reactions from not just the opposition parties, but from her own BJP as well.

BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao distanced his party from Pragya's comments. "We completely disagree with the statement she has made with regard to Mahatma Gandhi and we strongly condemn this particular statement. The party, the BJP will ask as to why she made such a statement to seek or tender a public apology for her, this objectionable statement," he said.

Pragya Singh - whose candidature from Bhopal is already controversial due to her ongoing trial on terrorism charges - however came under attack from a number of opposition leaders. 

"Modi ji, Amit Shah ji and the state BJP should give their statements and apologize to the nation. I condemn this statement. Nathuram Godse was a killer. Glorifying him is not patriotism, it is sedition," said senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who is fighting Thakur for the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat.

This isn't the first time that Thakur's remarks have landed her squat in the middle of controversy since she was given the BJP ticket for Bhopal. She had earlier faced flak for claiming that she had been cured of cancer by drinking cows' urine and for calling former Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare a terrorist, among other controversial remarks.