The Bharatiya Janata Party's national vice president and member of Rajya Sabha Vinay Sahasrabuddhe has put his proverbial foot in his mouth, after calling the deaths of people standing in queues "mere accidents".
"Logon ka (bank) line main lagkar marna ye sirf hadse hain. Log ration ki line main lagkar bhi marte hain (Incidences like people dying in queue for exchange of money are mere accident as people sometime die waiting in queue for ration)," he said to journalists on Monday at the official residence of Madhya Pradesh's public relations minister Narottam Mishra, reported The Times of India.
As his statement drew media ridicule and members of other political parties criticised his remarks, Sahasrabuddhe quickly defended himself, alleging he was misquoted.
"I said that deaths on queues are tragic but these are incidental and we are aware of them," he tweeted in Hindi. "People stand in queues for many other things as well and despite hardships they have chosen the way of honesty."
Sahasrabuddhe called the central government's move against black money like a "satyagraha". He was struggling to answer pointed questions on how common people are facing hardships following the demonetisation decision, reported Hindustan Times, when he made the insensitive remark.
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