Cong, Nirupam must apologise, demands BJP

Announcing boycott from attending news channel debates in which Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam participates, Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday called for a public apology from the leader and the party.

"The comment made by Nirupam on Smriti Irani is unacceptable, unparliamentary and shameful -- to make such a comment on a female leave aside her being a MP, BJP has decided to boycott from attending news channel debates in which Nirupam participates," national spokesperson of BJP, Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters in Jammu.

"Congress party and Sanjay Nirupam should publicly apologies for his comments -- we will not tolerate indecent persons of Congress," he said.

"The fact is that they have lost Gujarat and Irani is MP from Gujarat -- the spectacular victory which BJP made in Gujarat in the command of Narendra Modi is not still being accepted by the people like Sanjay Nirupam, who is settling scores with the female representative on a TV channel," Rudy said.

Sanjay Nirupam reportedly used defamatory and indecent language against BJP MP Smriti Irani during a TV debate when the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh election results were pouring in on December 20.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary termed the whole incident as "regrettable" and said this mindset cannot be accepted.

"This is very regrettable. To say such a thing is unfortunate. It is this mindset, which we have to fight," Chowdhary said in Delhi.