Congress asks BJP to expel 'regressive' Giriraj Singh

Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi on Wednesday asked the Bharatiya Janata Party to expel Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Giriraj Singh for his 'white skinned' remark on party chief Sonia Gandhi.

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"Giriraj Singh has lost his mental balance. We condemn his regressive mindset and demand his expulsion from the party. Prime Minister Modi should apologize to the nation," she said.

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Meanwhile, another Congress leader Pramod Tiwari called for a criminal case against the Bihar MP.

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"There should be a criminal case against Giriraj Singh for his remarks. It seems that all the BJP leaders are intoxicated and are not in their senses," said Tiwari.

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Earlier in the day, Singh had said that his comment on Sonia Gandhi was made 'off the record' and added that it was being presented by the media in a different light.

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"The things that are being shown by the media were something that was said was off the record. People say many kinds of things at home or outside. The way it was presented is a different issue. But If I have hurt anyone's sentiments including Sonia ji and Rahul ji, I regret what I said," said he told ANI.

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Singh, who was sitting among a group of his supporters in Hajipur in Bihar, had jocularly asked whether Sonia's "white skin" had been her ticket to securing the top job in the Congress Party.

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Stoking the controversy further, he further queried, "If Rajiv (Gandhi) had married a Nigerian, things would have been different.