Naresh Agarwal apologised for his statement on Jaya Bachchan on Tuesday. He also accused media of twisting his words.

“My intention was not to hurt anybody’s sentiments. I regret if my comment has hurt somebody’s feelings and withdraw my words,” said Agarwal.

Agarwal, who joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, addressed a press conference soon after joining the party. He termed actor-turned politician Jaya Bachchan “someone who used to dance in films.”

Samajwadi Party (SP) nominated Jaya Bachchan as its candidate for Rajya Sabha polls and bypassed Naresh Agarwal as the candidate. Following this, Agarwal was upset with the party’s decision and he quit Samajwadi Party to join BJP.

His statement was criticised by BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, who serves as the Minister of External Affairs. On twitter, Swaraj welcomed Agarwal into BJP, however, said that his remarks on Jaya Bachchan were ‘improper’ and ‘unacceptable’.

Congress leader Renuka Choudhary also criticised his comment and questioned, “what is the BJP doing?”. Shiromani Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal said such comments need to be condemned and termed the comments as ‘shameful’.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said that his absence in the party will pose no harm but is in the interest of the party.