Pragya Thakur in Defence Ministry panel led by Rajnath

New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS) A controversy erupted after Malegaon blast accused and BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur was nominated to the parliamentary consultative committee of the Ministry of Defence.

According to the government notification dated October 21, the 21-member parliamentary consultative committee is headed by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Thakur, who defeated Congress heavyweight Digvijaya Singh in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, also featured in the committee.

The 21-member Parliamentary Consultative Committee also includes the likes of opposition leaders Farooq Abdullah, TMC's Sougata Roy, DMK's A. Raja and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections Thakur had courted controversy with her remarks on a number of occasions.

She had landed in a major controversy when she called Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, a patriot.

The BJP had issued a showcause notice to Pragya over the remarks.

Thakur had also stirred controversy by saying that then Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare had died during the 26/11 terror attack because of her "curse".