I forgive them: Gadkari on Congress leaders

After the Congress suggested that the BJP chief should be referred to a "psychiatric facility" for his remarks on Afzal Guru's hanging, Nitin Gadkari retaliated saying he understood their compulsions and hence was "forgiving" them from the core of his heart.

"After Bharat Bandh (nationwide strike against price rise), the Congress has been left with nothing to say. In such a situation one loses one's balance. Manish Tewari (Congress spokesperson) and others are like my younger brothers. I forgive them from the core of my heart," Gadkari told reporters.

He was speaking on the sidelines of an inaugural programme for a training session for BJP workers.

Taking the war of words further, Gadkari said, "I understand their (Congress leaders) compulsions and limitations. Those poor guys used such foul language in the absence of any reply to my question."

When asked if he would seek an apology from Tewari, he said, "No, not at all. People speak in the way they are."

Earlier, Gadkari had angered the Congress when he asked in Dehradun yesterday whether Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was "son-in-law of Congress" and this was the reason for the delay in hanging him. Tewari responded by saying that Gadkari had lost his mind and "needed serious help".

Defending use of the phrase "son-in-law of Congress" for Afzal, Gadkari said, "In what way is this unparliamentary. What mistake, what insult have I committed? I have only expressed my feelings as a patriot."

The BJP president further said that the Sheila Dikshit government in Delhi should apologise to the widows of Parliament attack martyr as "it had kept Afzal Guru's mercy plea file for six years and maintained that it was with the Union Home Ministry".