Gulab Chand Kataria was also criticised on social media for his remarks on Maharana Pratap
Rajasthan's Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria on Tuesday tendered an apology after his controversial remarks on warrior king Maharana Pratap triggered outrage among Rajputs in the state.
Mr Kataria tendered the apology saying his selection of words for the Mewar king was not right and he was sorry for that.
"Our ancestors fought for 100 years. The most recent example is Maharana Pratap. Was he bitten by a mad dog that he left his kingdom and fort to wander in jungles? Who had he done it for?" Mr Kataria had asked in Hindi while addressing a public gathering in the Rajsamand constituency on Sunday.
The remarks outraged the people from the community with Udaipur's royal family scion Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar charging that undignified language was for Maharana Pratap whose "name is synonymous with the valour and struggle".
In a message on his Facebook page, Mr Mewar, also a descendant of Maharana Pratap, said words should be chosen carefully.
Maharana Pratap was the king of Mewar, the present-day Udaipur region.
Mr Kataria was also criticised on social media.
Reacting sharply to the comment, Rajput youths defaced Mr Kataria's posters outside the BJP headquarters in Jaipur with ink and protested against him.
They demanded from the BJP to sack him from the post of leader of the opposition.
Mr Kataria tendered an apology, saying he was sorry for hurting the sentiments of people.
He released a video saying his sentiments for Maharana Pratap were not wrong but he used wrong words.
"I respect Maharana Pratap. If anyone is hurt by my statement, I apologise," he said.