New Delhi: Yoga expert Baba Ramdev on Saturday apologised for a derogatory remark he made against Rahul Gandhi and the Dalits. Offering his apology to the Dalits, Ramdev said his statement had been misinterpreted and that he didn't mean to disrespect the Dalits. "I offer my apologies to the Dalit community if their feelings were hurt," he said.
His statement came after an FIR was filed against him in Lucknow over the remark. He said on Friday that Rahul visited the houses of Dalits in the city for "picnics and honeymoon".
The remark stirred a hornet's nest, with scorn pouring in from all quarters. "I will not respond on this wildness. People will respond," Rahul's sister Priyanka Gandhi said.
"Ramdev's comments are shameful. I am ashamed that someone can make such statements and there is a political party that can embrace such an individual," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said.
Ramdev, who is supporting the BJP in the Elections 2014, further said that Rahul was unmarried because he had not been able to find any girl. He did not spare Sonia Gandhi either. "Sonia Gandhi feels that marrying a foreigner would hurt Rahul's chances of becoming the prime minister; and that is why she wants him to first attain the top post and then marry an outsider," he said.
The Congress demanded that the Yoga expert tender an unconditional apology.
"He is a yoga guru. Does he need to say this for Dalit women? He needs to be mentally fit. (BJP's PM candidate Narendra) Modi uses Ramdev as per his convience. We demand that Modi speak on this issue," Congress leader Kumari Selja said.
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