Mizoram Chief Minister Pu Lalthanhawla's remarks have been misinterpreted and he "did not even distantly suggest" that he was a victim of racism in his own country, the state government said here Friday.
The chief minister "did not even distantly suggest or hint that the people of India are racist and he was a victim of racism", said the statement issued by Sanjay Pratap Singh, resident commissioner, Mizoram.
"Lalthanhawla's attention has been drawn to a news item published in a section of the print media quoting the chief minister, in the course of his speech at an international seminar on water at Singapore, that Indians are racist and he himself was a victim of racism.
"The chief minister's statement has been misinterpreted and not correctly appreciated," the statement said.
The chief minister was reported to have said that he is often asked in his own country if he is an Indian as he hails from the northeast.
But Friday's statement clarified: "What he had stated was that India is a multiracial country and there could occasionally be some misunderstanding based on physical features of individuals from a particular region or regions of the country."