Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas (File pic)
Kumar Vishwas, a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, apologized today for offensive remarks about Kerala nurses that he made in 2008. A video of his comments has been highlighted by political opponents and is being circulated online
"If some words of mine have hurt the sentiments of my friends, I apologize to them from the depth of my heart," said the 43-year-old who has said he will run for parliament against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
He said the Congress should also apologize for vandalizing the Aam Aadmi Party's office in Kochi on Monday, an act seen as retribution for his racist remarks.
(AAP's office vandalised, Kumar Vishwas' effigy burnt over racist remarks on Kerala nurses)Mr Vishwas, a Hindi poet and professor, said his comments about nurses from Kerala were made at a kavi sammelan or poetry gathering where "jokes are presented in a jocular and light-hearted manner without an intention to harm anybody's feelings. "
He said that holding him politically accountable for those comments is unfair. "Will the Congress and BJP apologize for Raj Babbar and Shatrughan Sinha's rape scenes in their films?" he asked, referring to actors-turned-politicians from the two major national parties.
Recently, another video that showed Mr Vishwas making offensive remarks about Muslims spawned a major controversy. AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that Mr Vishwas had not intended his remarks to be hurtful and that he had apologized for them.