Government does not endorse discriminatory statements: Rajnath

The government on Tuesday said it does not "endorse" any kind of statement which seeks to discriminate between the people of the country.

Intervening during zero hour in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, "We do not endorse any statement inside and outside the house which talks about discrimination on the basis on caste, creed and religion."

The matter was raised by Congress MP from Kerala M.I Shanavaz, who sought to bring to the attention of the house comments by a Shiv Sena MP who had reportedly talked about taking away the voting rights of a particular community to stop vote bank politics.

BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj had also backed his comments by demanding that a strict law on family planning be brought in for all to check the population growth. He said those who do not follow it should be stripped of their voting rights.

Meanwhlile, Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, also accused members of the ruling BJP of making communal statements.

Kharge demanded that the government should register a case against the magazine for carrying such remarks. "Instability is being brought upon by your own MPs and your affiliated organisations. Do you want to bind the country or break it?" the congress leader said.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP from Patiala, Dharamvir Gandhi, also sought to know the reason behind such people not getting arrested.

Rajnath Singh's comments come a day after party leader Giriraj Singh expressed regret over his "white-skin" comment against Sonia Gandhi after the Congress created a ruckus over it and forced a brief adjournment of the Lok Sabha.