File photo of Robert Vadra (Agence France-Presse photo)
Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra today said he was appalled at the racist comments made by union minister Giriraj Singh.
"Appalled to read the comments by a union minister on the Congress president/my mother-in-law. A woman of immense dignity," Mr Vadra said in a statement.
"Is this the way we speak about a lady who has undergone hardships all through her life and has lost her loved ones for the nation. If the government and the ministers cannot respect her, if they make sexist, racist comments about her, what about the other women in our country?" said the 45-year-old married to Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka.
Giriraj Singh has been widely condemned for saying on Tuesday: "If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian lady and not a white-skinned woman, then would the Congress have accepted her leadership?"
He was reprimanded by his party and ordered to apologise. BJP president Amit Shah told him to observe absolute restraint and stop embarrassing the party and the government.
Mr Vadra, a businessman, has been a frequent target of attacks from the BJP over his controversial land deals in Haryana.