Hyderabad: The state of Panchayat Raj, Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, ended up in a soup on Friday after making an obnoxious, sexist remark to a female mandal parishad development officer (MPDO) during an official event.
At the Palle Pragathi grama sabha in the town of Uppal in the Warangal district, Rao asked the residents where their MPDO is and how well she works in the mandal. He later said in Telugu that she was “shaking well, but not shaking up at work”.
To the great dismay, several men burst out laughing at the event after the minister made the remark. Collector Rajeev Gandhi Hanumanthu, Parkal MLA Challa Dharma Reddy was among those present.
The MPDO seemed seemingly uncomfortable in the video that is now widely shared. She later confined herself to a corner throughout the meeting, reports say.
Rao’s comments upset not only the public but also the opposition, which demanded that he be removed from the ministerial post.
Sravan Dasoju, a national spokesperson for the Indian Congressional Committee (AICC), demanded that Rao discuss Indian criminal code under section 354A (sexual harassment) and 509 (Word, gesture or act to insult a woman’s modesty) should be for his derogatory remarks against the women officer.
“If Errabelli Dayakar Rao makes such serious remarks against a Group I officer, how will he talk to other women without power?” Sravan knocked Rao out in a video statement.
Meanwhile, shortly after the video went viral, Errabelli Dayakar Rao responded to the video via a statement released to the media. He condemned the video, saying his political opponents were distributing a fake video.
Source: The Siasat Daily