BJP wants govt to seek explanation from German envoy

BJP today supported Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's demand for an apology from a German delegation which had reportedly criticised him and insisted that the government seek a clarification from the German ambassador on the issue.

"BJP demands that the prime minister should take the letter written by Modi seriously and act on it by seeking an explanation from the German ambassador and asking him to apologise on the remarks of the delegation against the chief minister," party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters in New Delhi.

Modi had yesterday written a letter to prime minister Manmohan Singh demanding that a visiting parliamentary delegation from Germany should apologise for allegedly having tarnished the image of a democratically elected chief minister.

Members of Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of ruling coalition of Germany, who had visited Gujarat to study the status of minorities early this week, reportedly justified the European Union's decision of not granting visa to Modi.

"The delegation was in Gujarat for just over a day and met a selected few people and gave a judgment on the constitutional authority chosen by the people," Sitharaman said.

Modi demanded that either the delegation members apologise or issue a clarification if they have not made any such statement to the media.