Dem vs Dem:Tulsi Gabbard seeks apology from Kamala Harris

Washington DC: Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard has sought an apology from her fellow party lawmaker, Indian-American Senator Kamala Harris, alleging that people "suffered" when she was the attorney general of California.

Both Gabbard, 38, and Harris, 54, who are popular among Indian-Americans, appeared on the same stage in Detroit on Wednesday at the CNN's Democratic presidential debate.

Trailing far behind Harris in current opinion polls, Gabbard -- the first Hindu to ever run for the presidency of the United States -- was aggressive in attacking the Senator from California on the criminal justice system.

"The bottom line is, Senator Harris, when you were in a position to make a decision and an impact in these people's lives you did not and worse yet, in the case of those who are on death row, innocent people you actually blocked evidence from being revealed that would have freed them until you were forced to do so," Gabbard said amidst applause from the audience.

"There is no excuse for that. And the people who suffered under your reign as prosecutor you owe them an apology," she said.

Harris was quick to defend her record as attorney general of California.

"As the elected attorney general of California, I did the work of significantly reforming the criminal justice system of a state of 40 million people which became a national model for the work that needs to be done," she said.

The Indian-American Senator said she was proud of her work in California.