Following an uproar by the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Giriraj Singh on Monday expressed regret for his remarks on Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
"I express regret... if anyone has been hurt by my statement. I didn't mean to insult anyone. My purpose was not to offend anyone," Singh said in the Lok Sabha.
His comments came after the opposition aggressively demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's apology over the issue, with Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia demanding that Singh be sacked for his remarks.
Giriraj had faced wide spread condemnation earlier for asking if the Congress party would have accepted Sonia Gandhi had she not been white-skinned.
"If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian or if she (Sonia) wasn't white skinned, would Congress accept her as a leader?" the BJP MP from Bihar had said to his supporters during a meeting in Hajipur.