Giriraj Singh of Bihar has a high hit rate in delivering maximally offensive remarks, but that hasn't impeded his political growth. In November, he was made a Union Minister though he was on bail at the time in a case that accused him of a hate speech in his home state. Ahead of the national election, Mr Singh had vowed publicly that critics of Narendra Modi, then his party's Prime Ministerial candidate, would be exiled to Pakistan.
Mr Singh, 63, has incited a ferocious call for his removal today with his egregious remarks against Sonia Gandhi. If her husband, Rajiv, had married "a Nigerian lady and not a white-skinned woman, then would the Congress have made her President?" he asked in Bihar.
Critics say that amounts to little more than a very light slap on the wrist. Sources in the BJP in Bihar say that Mr Singh remains unfettered by fear of real punishment because of his well-established proximity to the party's top leaders, Mr Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, who, for years, was hosted by Mr Singh when he visited the state.
That was not new. After communal riots seared Gujarat in 2002, when Mr Modi was Chief Minister, Mr Kumar, worried about alienating Muslim voters in Bihar, told the BJP that the state must remain off-limits for any campaigning by Mr Modi. Mr Singh had urged his party to reject that proposal.
In April last year, Mr Singh said that opponents of the BJP's presumptive prime minister would be forced to re-locate to Pakistan when he was elected. Days later, Mr Modi later did not name him but urged supporters to stop "irresponsible" and "petty statements".
In November, he joined Mr Modi's government.
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