Sadhvi Pragya in Aap Ki Adalat: 'I was brutally beaten by male officers with a broad expeller belt, day and night for 24 days in custody'

Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur on Saturday gave broad indication of her intention to join politics.

Responding to a range of questions by Rajat Sharma on IndiaTV's show Aap Ki Adalat, Sadhvi Pragya said she would not hesitate in joining politics if the 'nation wants'

"Yadi rashtra ki avashyakta hogi, yadi rashtra ka aavhaan hoga, toh zaroor (If the nation wants, and if the nation gives me a call, I will surely join politics," she told Rajat Sharma.

Sadhvi Pragya, who was incarcerated in jail for nine years in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blast, made her political inclinations quite clear. "Modi Ji is a 'rashtra bhakt' (patriot) and I don't find any problem in supporting him," she said.

When asked about Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Sadhvi Pragya said: "Rahul Gandhi is a 'bachha' (child). He is not the right person to lead the nation. There is no restraint in his statements. There is no mention of the nation's welfare in his statements. Abroad, he gives statements which bring a bad name to our country. On the other hand, wherever Modi Ji has gone, he has enhanced India's prestige."

When Rajat Sharma asked whether she would be a star campaigner for BJP in the forthcoming polls, Sadhvi Pragya Singh said: "I can do campaigning, but I will not canvass for any individual. I will only speak in favour of a better social order and the rule of Dharma."

The wheelchair-bound sannyasin Sadhvi Pragya was granted bail in April last year by Bombay High Court after nine years in jail. However, in December last year, the Special NIA court dismissed pleas by Sadhvi Pragya and other co-accused seeking discharge from the case.

In her first extensive interview in Aap Ki Adalat, Sadhvi Pragya narrated in detail, how she was tortured daily for 24 days by Maharashtra ATS officers.

"I was brutally beaten by male officers with a broad expeller belt, day and night for 24 days in custody. My arms and legs were swollen, which were then immersed in salty warm water, and the beatings resumed," she said.

"In custody, the officers used to hurl filthy abuses at me, and forced me to hear objectionable CDs. They wanted to forcibly extract confession from me in order to implicate senior RSS leaders," Sadhvi Pragya said.

WATCH: Sadhvi Pragya in Aap Ki Adalat: 'I was tortured continuously for 24 days in jail'

On Swami Agnivesh and Digvijaya Singh

She also revealed that Swami Agnivesh had once tried to trap her by meeting her in jail. "He was part of a conspiracy. He offered to get me out of jail by speaking to the then Union ministers P. Chidambaram and Sushil Shinde, if I confessed about my role in blasts. I told him, go tell Chidambaram and Shinde that if they carry out honest investigations, I will already be out of jail."

"I was a student leader of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (RSS students wing) in Madhya Pradesh, and Digvijaya Singh was the chief minister. It was he who hatched the idea of saffron terror and targeted me," Sadhvi Pragya said.

On her views about Muslims

Responsding to a question over her views against Muslims, Sadhvi Pragya denied that she was against the community. She stressed that terrorism has neither any colour nor religion but 'traitors' must be handled with iron hands.