New Delhi, Nov. 16 -- The Higher Education Minister for Madhya Pradesh and BJP leader, Inder Singh Parmar, has sparked a controversy after referring to social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy as an "agent of the British" who initiated a "vicious cycle of religious conversion".

Following the public outrage over his remarks, the state minister issued an apology on Sunday, claiming the comment was merely a "slip of the tongue."

In a video statement, Parmar said the remark "came out by mistake".

"Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a social reformer, and he should be respected. The sentence slipped out of my mouth by mistake, and I am very sad about it. I apologise for it," he said.

Parmar made the contentious statement during an event in the Agar Malwa di...