New Delhi: Giriraj Singh, a minister known to be a serial offender with hate speeches, was struck by waves of condemnation today over his deeply racist comments on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
The BJP ordered Mr Singh to apologise for saying on Tuesday: "If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian lady and not a white-skinned woman, then would the Congress have accepted her leadership?"
Sources say party chief Amit Shah asked the 63-year-old minister to "observe absolute restraint in public and in private" and stop embarrassing the party and the government.
But the minister stopped short of an apology. "All sorts of things are said off the record. But if Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were hurt by my remarks, then I regret them," he said.
An angry Nigeria said it will take up the offensive remarks with the government. The Congress said the remarks were bordering on insanity.
"The comments reflect the lack of moral fibre in the BJP. It appears that the continuous quest to appease Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made him lose his balance," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
A first time MP from Nawada in Bihar, Giriraj Singh was made a minister of state in November despite his notoriety. Before last year's national election, he had said that critics of Mr Modi, his party's then prime ministerial candidate, should go to Pakistan.
"He is a serial offender. What is the PM's Mann ki Baat on this? His silence reflects connivance and encouragement," said CPM leader Brinda Karat.
Giriraj Singh belongs to the politically powerful Bhumihar community in Bihar and is believed to be vital for the party's campaign in the state that goes to the polls later this year.
Till now, Mr Singh has largely been spared any serious action by the party, but sources say he has emerged as a big headache for a government that wants to highlight its agenda of economic reforms and development.