Ahmedabad, Feb 19 (PTI) A BJP leader in Gujarat demanded an apology from a Congress MLA on Wednesday for wrongly suggesting that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had linked the coronavirus epidemic with inflation.

The controversy erupted after first-time MLA from Dhoraji seat of Rajkot Lalit Vasoya shared a Gujarati newspaper's front page on his Facebook account and also made some remarks. The headline of the newspaper read - 'Inflation will rise due to Coronavirus: Finance Minister Sitharaman'.

However, the finance minister had not made any such reference during the reported event.

Attending a meeting of representatives of various industrial sectors in Delhi, Sitharaman had said, "There are no concerns about price rise so far due to coronavirus".

Taking a strong exception to the MLA's remarks, Rajkot BJP leader Raju Dhruv demanded an apology.

"Vasoya showcased his sick mentality by making such comments. I condemn his remarks and demand his apology," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)