In a setback for Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Giriraj Singh, a court in Bihar on Thursday directed the police to register a case against him on the basis of a complaint filed by a Congress worker for his alleged ‘racist’ remarks against Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The complaint was filed by Congress worker Sanjay Kumar Singh in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Ved Prakash Singh, who transferred the case to the court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate Anju Singh.
The SDJM directed Mithanpura police station to register a case against the minister on the basis of the complaint, Sumit Kumar, lawyer of the petitioner, said.
The SDJM gave the order to Mithanpura police station under Section 166 of IPC (public servant disobeying law with intent to cause injury to any person).
Sonia, too, refused to comment on the remarks. She simply called him a person with “narrow mentality”. “It’s difficult for me to react on remarks of such people having such a narrow mentality. I cannot comment on such remarks,” said Sonia without elaborating.
Even after expressing regret over his comment, Singh received a lot of criticism from various sections of the society. A group of Congress workers on Thursday staged a protest against Singh outside a residential complex where he lives, seeking his resignation over his remark on Sonia.
Giriraj Singh, who had been in news for making objectionable comments in past, had stoked a fresh controversy on Tuesday when he told reporters in Patna that he wondered if former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had married a woman who was not white-skinned, would the Congress have accepted her as its president.
“If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian and if she wasn’t white-skinned, would the Congress accept her (Sonia Gandhi) as a leader,” he said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi today refused to comment on Singh’s remarks, which was severely criticised by the opposition parties.
Despite several protests by the Congress workers across the country demanding sacking of Singh for his controversial remarks, Sonia Gandhi today said she would not like to make make a comment on ‘people who have a narrow mindset.’
While Congress demanded his dismissal, Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra said that he was “appalled” at the remark which was a reflection of the BJP leader’s lack of respect for women.
After the remarks caused outrage, Giriraj Singh expressed regret and said that his remarks were made during an off-the-record conversation.
“During off-the-record conversation, there is talk of different kinds. How it was presented… If Sonia-ji or Rahul-ji have been hurt by my remarks, I express regret,” he had said.
