Giriraj SinghIn a shameful remark loaded with racism, Union minister Giriraj Singh on Wednesday said it was the colour of Sonia Gandhi‘s skin that made her the Congress president.

“If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian and if she wasn’t white skin, would Congress accept her as a leader?” the BJP MP from Bihar said.

The Congress lashed out at the BJP for the comment. “It reflects the BJP mindset,” a party spokesperson said.

This was not the first time that Giriraj Singh had courted controversy. Shortly after the BJP won the 2014 elections, he had asked all those opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to move to Pakistan.

Ignoring a massive outrage, Singh was later included in Modi’s Cabinet last year as a Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.