Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia raised the issue in the Parliament with full backing of Opposition leaders. He sought the resignation of Giriraj Singh and also an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Although Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu clarified that neither his party nor his government approve such comments, but he rejected the demand of PM’s statement on this matter.
Giriraj Singh, in a personal conversation, had commented that had Rajiv married a Nigerian, she would never become the President of Congress Party and only because of her fair skin, Sonia was accepted by the Congress as its Chief. The statement, when leaked outside, triggered a massive outrage, forcing Giriraj to apologise. Even, BJP President Amit Shah reprimanded him over this issue.
The Congress also took strong objections to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut’s Editorial piece in Saamana, which talked about revoking the voting rights of Muslims to prevent them from political exploitation.
Earlier, PM Modi tweeted, “Parliament session begins today. I look forward to a productive session, filled with constructive debates on several issues”. He said that all political parties have been very cooperative so far and that will help to run the House smoothly.