Rebuked by his own party and facing backlash from the BJP, former union minister and Congress veteran CP Joshi on Friday apologised for his remarks that "only Brahmins can speak about Hindu religion, not Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union minister Uma Bharti".
In a video gone viral, Joshi is seen saying: "It is strange that Uma Bharti, who is of the Lodhi community is talking about Hindu religion, Narendra Modi is of some other religion and he talks about Hindu religion 
Strongly disapproving the comments, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Joshi's remarks were against the ideology of the party and he should apologise for it.
"Respecting the principles of the party and sentiments of its workers, Joshi would definitely realise his mistake. He should express remorse for his statement," said Gandhi and warned party leaders to refrain from making any statements which may hurt sentiments of any section of the society.