New Delhi:

Union Minister Piyush Goyal immediately withdrew a controversial touch upon Bihar that has provoked protests and condemnation in parliament by opposition MPs and calls for for his apology.

The minister had made the touch upon Tuesday, when RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) member Manoj Jha was talking in Rajya Sabha on inflation and the state of the economic system.

As Mr Jha made important remarks about hovering costs, Piyush Goyal, the chief of the home, mentioned: “Inka bas chale to desh ko Bihar bana dein (if he had his way, he would turn the entire country into Bihar)”.

Mr Jha protested instantly. “Sir, this is an insult to Bihar. Piyush ji, with folded hands I urge you, say whatever you want to about me, but please don’t make comments on Bihar,” he mentioned.

Bihar MPs accused Mr Goyal of demeaning their state through the use of it as a pejorative time period.

This morning, Mr Goyal put out a clarification however stopped wanting an apology. “Let me clarify that I had absolutely no intention of insulting either Bihar or people of Bihar. If it has hurt anyone’s sentiment, I immediately withdraw that statement,” the minister mentioned in Rajya Sabha.

But MPs mentioned it was not sufficient. “Piyush Goyal will have to offer a public apology for his remarks. Mere withdrawing the statement is not enough. He has insulted the people of Bihar,” Mr Jha instructed NDTV.

If the minister didn’t apologise, he mentioned, it might show that Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoned such views.

RJD MPs and different members from Bihar protested close to the Gandhi statue at parliament and raised slogans towards the minister. “Piyush Goyal, apologise. We will not tolerate the insult of Bihar,” MPs shouted.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav shared the clip of the alternate between his get together MP and Mr Goyal yesterday in a publish slamming the minister. “Look at the insult of Bihar and Biharis by a mindless and arrogant (vivekheen aur ahankari) Union Minister. Projects worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore were taken away from his home state Maharashtra by Gujarat and he could not utter a word. This shows his standing,” Tejashwi Yadav mentioned on Twitter.

Mr Jha wrote to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Rajya Sabha chairman, urging him to delete the remark that, he mentioned, was uncalled for and smacked of “elitism”.

In the letter, Mr Jha mentioned Mr Goyal had proven insensitivity in direction of Bihar and complained that the folks of Bihar had been “always treated like second class citizens”. “I request you to expunge his statement and take necessary steps so that no other state in the country is subjected to such treatment by the Union Government,” Mr Jha wrote.