Jaipur: Condemning the recent remarks made by Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday demanded an apology from both the minister and the central government.
He said the "derogatory" comments on the leader of opposition are "unacceptable".
"The language used by Union Minister Bittu against Rahul Gandhi is not befitting. He should apologise because he is a minister. The government should apologise. It is not right to use such a cheap language against the leader of opposition," he told reporters in Rajasthan's Dausa.
Bittu, attacking Rahul Gandhi over the statements he had made in the US about the condition of Sikhs in India, said on Sunday that if those "manufacturing bombs" were supporting him, he is the "number one terrorist".
Bittu was elected as the Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan in the recently held bypoll for one seat.
The former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan said Bittu made the remarks deliberately to prove his loyalty to the BJP. "He has joined the BJP, so to prove his loyalty he must have said all these things about Rahul, but this is wrong and he should apologise immediately," he said.
Pilot claimed the BJP is on the back foot in the Haryana elections.
"It is lagging behind in the elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. It finds itself behind the Congress, so in frustration the BJP leaders have no option left, except to target Rahul," he said.
"The more they curse the Congress, the more they abuse Rahul, the stronger we will move ahead," he said, while exuding confidence of getting a majority in the Haryana Assembly elections. He said the INDIA bloc would form governments in Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.
Criticising the Rajasthan government, he said that law and order has "deteriorated" and multiple power centres have developed in the state.
"The government has failed, law and order has failed, many power centres have come up. The kind of work that the government should do, be it development, electricity and water, they are not able to do," he alleged.
Pilot said the Congress is playing the role of an effective opposition and all the leaders of the party are working together.