AHMEDABAD: Rahul Gandhi on Thursday conceded the words he had chosen to trash the ordinance on convicted lawmakers might have been wrong but not his sentiment.

"My mother (Congress president Sonia Gandhi ) told me the words I used were wrong. In hindsight, may be the words I used were strong but the sentiment was not wrong. I am young....," the Congress vice president told reporters.

Rahul, whose open denunciation and mounting public opinion against the ordinance and the related bill, forced the government to repeal the ordinance, also said he had the right to voice his opinion and claimed a "large part" of Congress party wanted the ordinance withdrawn.

"I have the right to voice my opinion. A large part of the Congress party wanted it," he said defending his action.

"Why am I being penalized for raising my voice on something that was wrong? Was I wrong?", Rahul said, apparently hinting at opposition BJP, besides some UPA allies, including Sharad Pawar's NCP and Farooq Abdullah's National Conference which had reportedly criticized the events that led to the reversal of the cabinet's decision.

"My point is detrimental to our allies," Rahul said when suggested RJD chief Lalu Prasad, jailed in a fodder scam case, would be the most unhappy person after what the Congress vice president did to thwart the ordinance.

Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which is supporting the UPA government from outside, had openly criticized rescinding of the ordinance.

Main opposition BJP has been most vocal and even demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh , saying Rahul's outburst against the ordinance, which he had called "nonsense" and should be "torn up and thrown away", had undermined his authority.

"I spoke my mind on the issue, it is amazing to see reactions to it. I am flabbergasted," he said.

Facing rising public anger and bowing to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's wishes, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday took barely 20 minutes to junk the contentious ordinance protecting convicted lawmakers from immediate disqualification.

The Cabinet not just scrapped the ordinance but also decided to withdraw the bill, currently before a parliamentary standing committee, that aims to negate the Supreme Court's July 10 ruling that convicted MPs, MLAs and MLCs shall be immediately unseated.

The course reversal happened within minutes, seeming as if it was a different cast of characters who cleared the ordinance for promulgation on September 9.

The Congress vice-president sensationally shot down the government's questionable bid to shield convicted lawmakers on Friday when he strode into a press interaction to denounce the ordinance as "nonsense" and suggest that it be "torn up and thrown away".

Rahul's intervention, aimed at reversing an unpopular decision, was intended to buffer the government from a public backlash the leader felt was building up against the government at a time when Congress faced a stiff electoral test in four major states.

