I said nothing wrong, Jaiswal says, despite apologising

, Oct 3: Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, despite being pressurised by his own party

, Opposition

and the National Commission for Women (NCW) to tender an apology over his 'old wives' remark made on Tuesday, said he said nothing wrong.

Jaiswal, while speaking to a news channel, said he did not say anything to demean women. According to him, he just tried to say that as marriage gets older, its charm keeps fading. The central minister said the context of his statement should not be twisted. He said all those who were criticising him were actually politicising the issue. However, he added that he would like to apologise if he his statement had hurt anybody.

According to report, Jaiswal's comment that 'Like old victory, old wives give no cause for celebration' drew flak from both the Congress and the NCW. Defending himself, Jaiswal said he was at an inauguration ceremony where he heard that India had defeated Pakistan in cricket and people were celebrating.

According to Jaiswal, he stopped the ceremony and asked people to celebrate the victory first. "It's no fun celebrating an old victory, just like there is no fun celebrating an old marriage," he said.

The minister, who has already faced heat over the recent coal scam, irked the Opposition for his comment. A BJP leader said that the Congress could be judged on the basis of such comments made by its own members.

This is, however, not the first time that Jaiswal's words caused embarrasment to himnself and his party. During the Uttar Pradesh elections this year, the minister's comment that Rahul Gandhi could become the Prime Minister any day had caused much discomfort to the party. He was asked to apologise then as well.

OneIndia News