Giriraj Singh should be removed from his post, says Ali Anwar

Janata Dal (United) leader Ali Anwar on Thursday said BJP leader and union minister Giriraj Singh should be removed from his post even if he apologizes for his vulgar remarks on Congress president Sonia Gandhi

"After the vulgar statement he made, even if he apologizes, he should still be removed from his post," Ali Anwar told ANI here.

"Such people are promoted in BJP, probably he thought that if he commented on Sonia Gandhi he will become a cabinet minister and Modi ji will decide what action should be taken against him," he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, 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.

"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," he told ANI.

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.

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