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MP Minister Babulal Gaur's pat on woman's back raises huge controversy

by IBNS 22 Apr 2016, 07:15 am

Bhopal, Apr 22 (IBNS) Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Babulal Gaur has denied that he had patted a woman inappropriately after a video clip aired on local channels created a controversy, giving rise to the demand for his resignation.

The 85-year-old former Chief Minister is seen in the video ushering people into a new low-floor bus that he flagged off in Bhopal on Thursday. His gesture while steering a woman towards the bus was caught in the frame of the camera. 

There is no truth in the clipping. I only directed women workers to board the bus quickly as it was meant for them. Whatever I am saying is true," Gaur said. 

Refusing to buy his explanation, opposition parties like the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have demanded his resignation.

. "BJP talks about respecting women...what about the security of the women in Madhya Pradesh?" questioned Congress leader Mandvi Chouhan. AAP workers held protests outside the minister's home in Bhopal and demanded his resignation.

"Babulal Gaur should resign. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan should look into the matter," said AAP spokesperson Neha Bagga.

In the past, Gaur courted controversies several times by making comments that often embarrassed his party, the Bharaitya Janata Party.

Last June, he commented that drinking liquor is a "fundamental right" and a status symbol.

Before that, he shared an anecdote about a conversation with a politician's wife during a trip to Russia. He told party workers how, while discussing how to secure a dhoti, he told the woman that he "could teach her the art of draping a dhoti, but in private".

In 2014, he described rape as a "social crime" which was "sometimes right and sometimes wrong".