Sonia won’t respond to ‘ narrow mindset’ people

Continued from Page 1 the Delhi Mahila Congress outside the BJP’s 11, Ashoka Road headquarters in central Delhi. The police swung into action and took away banners from the protesters and also foiled an attempt to burn Mr Singh’s effigy. The protesters were later bundled off in a police bus. Mr Singh had apparently left for Bengaluru to attend the BJP’s national executive meeting.

In Bengaluru, asked to react on the issue, BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said: “The minister has expressed regrets over his remarks, and the matter should now be closed... The party has already clarified on the issue.”

Earlier, party general secretary Ram Madhav said: “Giriraj Singh has clarified about his comment, the matter ends.”

However, replying to a question, Mr Hussain said Mr Singh’s remarks couldn’t be compared to the derogatory comments made on a TV show in 2012 by Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on BJP leader Smriti Irani ( now human resources development minister), which he had defended again. “It is not right to compare the two issues. That is Congress’ culture... the kind of comments they give. Our party has expressed regret,” Mr Hussain said.

In Bengaluru, Congress and NSUI workers assembled at a major junction, about 1 km away from a hotel where the BJP’s top brass had gathered for the party’s two- day national executive meeting beginning Friday. They raised slogans against Mr Singh and burnt his effigy. Karnataka Mahila Congress chief Manjula Naidu condemned Mr Singh’s “racist” remark and said an apology from him would not do and he should be sacked as a minister. The protesters were whisked away by the police. In Bihar, Sanjay Kumar Singh, a Congress worker, filed a complaint against Mr Singh for his remarks against Mrs Gandhi before Muzaffarpur chief judicial magistrate Ved Prakash Singh, who transferred the case to the court of subdivisional judicial magistrate Anju Singh.