Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday withdrew his controversial comments wherein he claimed that former prime minister Indira Gandhi met gangster Karim Lala in Mumbai. "If someone feels my statement hurt Indira Gandhi's image or someone's feelings, I take it back," Raut said.

"In the past, I have taken her (Gandhi's) side and argued with people who tried to malign her image. In such cases, some Congress leaders had remained silent," the Rajya Sabha member said. During an interview to the Lokmat media group at its award function in Pune on Wednesday, Raut claimed that "Indira Gandhi used to meet Karim Lala in Pydhonie (in south Mumbai)."