BJP president Nitin Gadkari today expressed regret over his remarks on Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Lalu Prasad. Mr Gadkari said, he had just used a phrase and had no intention of hurting anyone. He said, he has a lot of respect for both the leaders.<br/><br/>Addressing a Meet the Press programme in Chandigarh, Mr Gadkari claimed that he did not know that his comments would create such a furore. The BJP president offered to withdraw his words if the two leaders had felt bad.<br/><br/>When asked to comment on SP threatening to move court over his remarks, Mr Gadkari said, one has to try to understand the spirit behind what he said and the matter should end now. But, the controversy refuses to die. The RJD, SP and Congress have lashed out at Mr Gadkari over the matter.<br/><br/>The RJD Chief Lalu Prasad has strongly condemned BJP President's remarks against him, saying his party will launch an agitation on the issue. Addressing the media in Patna, he said, Mr Gadkari has no merit to become the chief of a party. On the alleged misuse of CBI, the RJD chief claimed that the agency has sniffed huge amount of money stashed by BJP leaders in Swiss banks and the move by the saffron party is to deflect attention from it.<br/> <br/>SP national spokesperson Mohan Singh told reporters in New Delhi that the kind of language used by Mr Gadkari shows that though he represents a national party, he has a very narrow minded approach. <br/><br/>Mr Singh said while RSS calls itself a guardian of Indian culture, a person like Mr Gadkari who is backed by the organisation, has shown his true colours and bias against the two Yadavas.<br/><br/>Congress has also criticised the highly derogatory language used by Mr Nitin Gadkari. Party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan termed Gadkari's remarks as shocking and outrageous, saying he should apologise to the nation for bringing politics to such a low.