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Union Minister Giriraj Singh Offers Half Hearted Apology, To No One In Particular, For Racist Comment About Sonia Gandhi

Union Minister Giriraj Singh Offers Half Hearted Apology, To No One In Particular, For Racist Comment About Sonia Gandhi
Activists of Indiaâs opposition Congress partyâs womenâs wing climb police barricades and shout slogans against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during a protest outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, India, Thursday, April 2, 2015. The protestors were reacting to the racist comments reported to have been made Tuesday by Junior Indian Minister Giriraj Singh against Congress party president Sonia Gandhi. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
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Activists of Indiaâs opposition Congress partyâs womenâs wing climb police barricades and shout slogans against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during a protest outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, India, Thursday, April 2, 2015. The protestors were reacting to the racist comments reported to have been made Tuesday by Junior Indian Minister Giriraj Singh against Congress party president Sonia Gandhi. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

NEW DELHI — The first day of the budget session of Parliament was briefly adjourned when the Congress party members created a ruckus over a comment made by central minister Giriraj Singh against Sonia Gandhi.

Singh had kicked up a row with his remarks by asking whether the Congress would have accepted Sonia Gandhi's leadership had she not been white-skinned.

As soon as the House assembled for the second part of the budget session after a month-long break, Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia raised the matter.

"People are making statements against women. Central minister Giriraj Singh had made a derogatory comment about Sonia Gandhi. This kind of comments are not only against the women of the country, but the entire country should hang their heads in shame. We not only want an apology, but also resignation of the minister. The prime minister should also apologize," he said.

While Parliamentary Affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the issue should be discussed, but the prime minister should not be dragged into this, speaker Sumitra Mahajan condemned the comments, but said the issue can be discussed later.

The Congress members, however, started shouting slogans which disrupted the question hour following which the speaker adjourned the house for 20 minutes.

As the Lok Sabha resumed, Singh expressed his regrets for making derogatory comment against Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Meri baaton se agar kisi ko dukh pahuncha hai to mai khed vyakt karta hun: Giriraj Singh speaking in LS (on his remark on Sonia Gandhi)

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 20, 2015

Kisi ka apmaan karna mera uddeshya (motive) nhi tha: Giriraj Singh in Lok Sabha

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 20, 2015

I express regret, If anyone has been hurt by my statement, didn't mean to insult anyone: Giriraj Singh in LS (on his remark on Sonia Gandhi)

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 20, 2015

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.