Rajnath raps Union Ministers V K Singh, Kiren Rijiju for controversial remarks

Says ministers need to be cautious while making statements

Home Minister Rajnath Singh today reprimanded Union Ministers V K Singh and Kiren Rijiju for their controversial statements and said they can't get away by saying that they were misinterpreted. 

"We can't get away by saying that statements were misinterpreted or twisted. We need to be extra careful while putting forth our views," he told reporters here. 

The Home Minister's snub came a day after External Affairs Minister V K Singh kicked up a political row when he tried to shield the government from blame in the Faridabad Dalit burning, saying the "government cannot be held responsible if somebody stones a dog."

Rijiju, the Minister of State for Home, had said a few days back said that he agreed with a former Lt Governor of Delhi who had once remarked that north Indians "take pride in and enjoy" breaking rules.

"I feel that as leaders of the ruling party, we must all be extra cautious while making any statement," the Home Minister said. 

"We should also ensure that there is no possibility of our statements being interpreted in the wrong way or send an incorrect message," he said. 

Singh said his ministerial colleagues -- V K Singh and Kiren Rijiju -- had already given clarification on their statement and matters should come to end. 

Singh's dog analogy provoked demands for his ouster by the opposition, which sought registration of a criminal case against him under the Scheduled Castes Prevention of Atrocities Act. 

Later, he gave a clarification on his statement, saying his remarks were misinterpreted. He asked the media not to twist words out of context. 

"I was witness to a statement made by one of the Lt Governor's of Delhi some years back. He had stated that people of north India enjoy breaking the rules and by evening he was forced to apologise. But I believe what he said was right," Rijiju had said on the sidelines of a function for inauguration of a think tank on police-related subjects. 

Rijiju too yesterday gave a clarification on his statement saying it was not aimed at one section but was applicable to the entire society.