'Fair' Sonia comment: Modi loyalist Giriraj Singh puts party on slippery wicket

New Delhi, April 1: Giriraj Singh, who is known for his fiery and controversial statements has done it yet again. Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Singh on Wednesday made racist remarks against the Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The Minister also took a dig at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his sabbatical. The Union Minister compared Rahul's sabbatical with missing Malaysian plane.

"What if (former PM) Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian and if she was not white skinned, then would Congress have accepted her as the party chief?", Singh said while talking to media-persons in Hajipur in Vaishali district of Bihar.

This is not the first time Giriraj Singh, who joined Modi Ministry in November 2014, has skirted controversy. During the Lok Sabha poll campaign, Jharkhand and Bihar police had lodged three FIRs against Singh for his obnoxious remarks. He is notorious for his outrageous comments.

Here are some of the statements which created outrage in the political circle:

All terrorists belong to a 'particular community' (May, 2014)

"Since terrorism is a matter relating to the country and not to a community, why secular leaders remain silent when all persons arrested in terrorism cases belong to a particular community," he told reporters in Patna. "Are there only a few to define religious non-discrimination? Is it not true that all the terrorists caught belong to one community? I am not saying that all the people in that community are terrorist but whoever is caught belongs to same community," he said.

Those opposing Modi will have to go to Pakistan (April, 2014)

"Those opposing Narendra Modi are looking at Pakistan, and such people will have place in Pakistan and not in India".

Giriraj Singh - Narendra Modi's blue-eyed boy?

Despite his controversial past, Giriraj Singh found place in Modi's Union Cabinet in November 2014. At that time, Opposition had slammed government for including those in the ministry whose credentials were in the dock.

Reportedly, Modi has liking for Singh, first time MP because of the way he took on the then Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his antipathy towards Modi despite being a member of Kumar's cabinet.

Giriraj Singh, had found a berth in the Narendra Modi ministry as a representative of Bhumihars, who backed the party in Bihar and felt let down due to lack of representation in the Council of Ministers.

It is believed that despite his proclivity to make unwarranted statements, he enjoys the Prime Minister's affection due to his unqualified support for Modi when BJP was divided over elevating him as its prime ministerial candidate.

When reports were rife that Singh was unhappy over his candidature from Nawada instead of Begusarai, which was considered a safer seat for BJP, Modi held a rally in the constituency and embraced him at the dais while telling the crowd that he was his man to serve Nawada.

OneIndia News