New Delhi, May 17: A day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Bhopal candidate Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur praised Nathuram Godse, Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde on Friday also sympathised with Godse on his official Twitter handle. "Am glad that 7 decades later today's generation debates in a changed perceptional environment and gives good scope for the condemned to be heard upon. #NathuramGodse would have finally felt happy with this debate!" Hegde tweeted. Pragya Singh Thakur Calls Nathuram Godse ‘Patriot’, Apologises Later and Retracts Statement.

However, an hour later, Hegde deleted the tweet and said his Twitter handle had been breached."My Twitter account has been breached twice in the past one week and certain tweets have been posted on my timeline which has been discarded and deleted. Regret the posts attributed to me." 'Godse Killed 1, Kasab Killed 72, Rajiv Gandhi Killed 17,000': BJP MP Nalin Kumar Kateel Stokes Row.

"My account was hacked since yesterday. There is no question of justifying Gandhi ji's murder. There can be no sympathy or justification of Gandhi ji's murder. We all have full respect for Gandhi ji's contribution to the nation," tweeted Hegde.

Tweet by Anantkumar Hegde:

A day after the Opposition criticised Thakur for calling Nathuram Godse a patriot, Anant Kumar Hegde said, "Time to assert and move away from being apologetic! If not now ... When?"

On Wednesday, Sadhvi Pragya had ignited a political row by claiming that Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, was a patriot and will remain one. After heavy criticism, she tendered an apology and said she respect Gandhiji as his work for the country cannot be forgotten.

The controversy was started by actor-turned-politician and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan who said: "independent India's first extremist was a Hindu", referring to Godse. The MNM chief on Thursday said that he stands by his comments on Godse and he only reiterated what was in the history.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 17, 2019 12:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).