Markandey KatjuBhubaneswar: Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju on Friday apologized on Facebook for his alleged derogatory remarks about Odisha and its people after an outcry against it.
"I said I had written my post in a lighter vein. However, if Odia people are feeling hurt I apologize. I had no intention to hurt their feelings, and was only joking, just as I had joked about Biharis, Tamilians, etc..," Katju wrote in his latest post in the social network.
Katju said, "When I went to Odisha, where I have been many times, I marvelled at the sight of the Konarak and Lingaraj temples."
In an earlier post, Katju had written, "What is there to write about these (Odiya) poor chaps? Ever since they got a thrashing at the hands of Ashoka in the battle of Kalinga, they have been a dejected lot. Now all they have with them are a lot of pots (Patras), big pots (Mahapatras) and supposedly intelligent kings (Patnaiks)."
