Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, who is also the state BJP chief, on Tuesday sought an apology from Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for his “highly provocative and derogatory remarks” against Hindus. He accused the “frustrated” Leader of Opposition of creating an atmosphere to weaken the country and lowering the prestige of the Lok Sabha by resorting to “lies”.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP office in Chandigarh, Saini also condemned the “misleading statements” of Gandhi about the Agnipath recruitment policy and minimum support price (MSP). “Rahul Gandhi is a failed product of the Congress, who has been launched multiple times. It is the result of this frustration that he stooped to this level and made all sorts of wild allegations in the Lok Sabha on Monday,” Saini said, adding the Congress leader must tender an unconditional apology for equating Hindus with violence.

“Rahul Gandhi’s conduct as Leader of the Opposition is highly deplorable. He has humiliated a bigger section of the people of this country by spewing venom, which we condemn and demand an apology,” the chief minister said.

Saini said the Congress leader should realise the gravity of his mistake and apologise instead of defending himself. “The yuvraj (prince) of the Congress said Hindus are violent. He defamed Hindus with his utterances. Now his gang is trying to justify his remarks. What he did in the House was the result of his frustration due to the third successive defeat of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

Referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, the state BJP chief said the Congress had turned a blind eye when Sikhs were being massacred and Hindus were leaving Kashmir.

He said this was not the first time that the Congress had linked Hindus with violence. “When the UPA was in power, the then home minister had dubbed Hindus as terrorists. What Rahul Gandhi is doing is tantamount to creating an atmosphere to weaken the country. It is the culture of the Congress to speak adversely about Hindus,” Saini said, pointing out that the LoP should back his claims in the House with evidence and facts.