Gehlot slams Navjot Singh over 'kale angrez' remark at Modi govt

Union minister Thawar Chand Gehlot Saturday condemned Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu's "kale angrez" (black Englishmen) remark targeted at the Modi government.

Addressing an election rally here Friday night, Sidhu had asked people to defeat "kale angrez", in an apparent attempt to liken the Modi government to the British rule before independence.

"Congress party has played a key role in the country's independence. It is the party of Maulana Azad and Mahatma Gandhi. They freed us from the whites. And now you Indorians, deliver the country from the black Englishmen...from the chowkidar thieves..." he had said.

Talking to PTI, Gehlot said, "Sidhu's racist remark is condemnable. India is the biggest democracy in the world and there has never been discrimination among Indians on the basis of colour. But nowadays, Sidhu has been continuously giving irrelevant and malicious statements."

"Once there was apartheid and fight between blacks and whites in South Africa. Now, this kind of tussle has come to an end in the world. Therefore, Sidhu's use of indecent words is absolutely inappropriate," Gehlot said.