Bhubaneswar, Oct. 14: Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju today apologised for his remarks on Odias in his Facebook post on Thursday saying "it was supposed to be a joke".

The apology followed criticism by people from various sections of the society at large.

"I had written my post in lighter vein. However, if Odia people are feeling hurt, I apologise. I had no intention to hurt their feelings, and was only joking, just as I had joked about Biharis, Tamilians, etc," wrote Katju, a former chairperson of the Press Council of India, in a fresh post today.

"I have great respect for Odia people and of their great achievements. When I went to Odisha, where I have been many times, I marvelled at the sight of the Konark and Lingaraj temples," said the former judge.

The former judge's grandfather, K.N. Katju, was the governor of Odisha in 1947. Recalling this, Katju said: "I have strong ties with the state. On my last visit, I met chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who gave me a lot of respect."

Concluding his latest post with "Jai Lord Jagannath", he hoped that after this apology people of Odisha will be "large hearted enough to let me enter the state and indeed will invite me".

Yesterday, Katju had written in his post on the Facebook: "I was asked to write about the Oriyas (Odias). What is there to write about these 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). And of course, they have Lord Jagannath to whom they pray every day for revenge on the abominable Biharis." This was an apparent reference to the Kalinga War, in which Kalinga was defeated by Asoka, the king of Magadh with his capital at Pataliputra, the modern-day Patna.

In the same post, Katju had made it clear that his remarks were in a lighter vein. "Odias this is just a joke, so don't file a case against me," he had written ending his post with a disclaimer.

However, his remarks provoked protests across the state. Members of Jagannath Sena, Kalinga Sena and the Jana Mangal Parishad burnt Katju's effigies and blackened his photographs in Puri and Bhubaneswar today.

Condemning Katju's remarks, Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram said: "Perhaps he does know that Odias had fought bravely and this led to the transformation of Chandashok to Dharmashok."

Opposition leader Narasingha Mishra said: "Katju has made the offensive remarks deliberately. He should tender an apology."

BJD chief whip Ananta Das said: "Katju has insulted the Odia race."

BJP leader Biswa Bhusan Harichandan said: "Perhaps Katju does not know that Emperor Kharavela of Kalinga had vanquished all his enemies."