Giriraj Singh says he regrets remarks on Sonia Gandhi's white skin

In a shameful remark loaded with racism, Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Wednesday said it was the colour of Sonia Gandhi's skin that made her the Congress president.

"If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian and if she wasn't white skin, would Congress accept her as a leader?" the BJP MP from Bihar said.

The Congress lashed out at the BJP for the comment. "It reflects the BJP mindset," a party spokesperson said, adding, "The worst part is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is watching all this silently."

"We seek an apology from PM Modi. He must make a statement on this," Congress spokesperson RPN Singh said.

Regret the remarks, says Giriraj

After a massive outrage that saw opposition leaders slamming the BJP for the remarks, Giriraj said he regretted his remarks. "If Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi are hurt by my statements, I regret what I said," he said.

But he remained defiant too. "I don't understand what I have said is against women. I never had such intentions," he said.

Not Giriraj Singh's first

This was not the first time that Giriraj Singh had courted controversy. Shortly after the BJP won the 2014 elections, he had asked all those opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to move to Pakistan.

Ignoring a massive outrage, Singh was later included in Modi's Cabinet last year as a Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Giriraj's comments came shortly after another BJP leader and Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar told agitating nurses in Goa to not strike in the sun as it will make them "dark" and "ruin their marital prospects".