BJP fights fire sparked by Giriraj jibe, Khemka transfer - Times of India

BENGALURU: On the eve of its three—day national executive, which kicks off here on Friday, BJP went into damage—control mode, trying to put a lid on the controversies arising out of Union minister Giriraj Singh's racist jibe against Congress and the Haryana government's order to transfer whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka.

BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said, "Giriraj Singh has expressed his regret and BJP considers the matter closed." Echoing him, Union law minister D V Sadananda Gowda said, "Singh has tendered an open apology. What more you can ask for?"

But the controversy refused to die, with Upendra Kushwaha, chief of Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, a BJP ally, telling reporters in Patna, "It doesn't behove a Union minister to speak in such a language... it's objectionable." Congress units across India held protests against the comment.

On Khemka, who had once taken on Sonia Gandhi's son—in—law Robert Vadra over his controversial land deals, Hussain said, "For a bureaucrat or politician, service is service, no matter what post one holds." He said Khemka's present posting was also a significant one.

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