NEW DELHI: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Friday Rahul Gandhi has made a "very ordinary statement" and there is "absolutely no question" of him apologising for it.
After the BJP raised the issue in both the Houses and stalled the proceedings, he said this was BJP's "tactic" to divert the attention of people from the countrywide protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill due to which the entire North-East is "burning".
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"There is absolutely no question of Rahul Gandhi apologising...he has made a very ordinary statement on the situation," Tharoor told reporters outside the Parliament House.
Gandhi's remarks on rape were at the centre of furious protests in the Lok Sabha on the last day of the winter session on Friday with leaders of the ruling BJP protesting and demanding an apology from him.
He said in Jharkhand on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative is like 'rape in India'.