Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has sparked off a controversy after he allegedly compared a group of protesters to 'dogs'. The opposition parties have condemned Rao's remarks and sought an apology from him.
Rao, who is also the president of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, was addressing a public meeting in Nalgoda district, after laying the foundation stone of a government scheme in the Nagarjun Sagar area, on Wednesday when a group of people wanted to give him a representation and started a protest.
When the group, including a few women, continued their protest even after handing over the papers to the chief minister, Rao told them to be quite or leave the place.
"Now that you have given the memo, leave from here. If you want to stay, please remain calm. No one will be disturbed by your stupid acts. We have seen many people. There are several dogs like you,” the chief minister was quoted as having said by news agency ANI.
Rao's comments stirred up a political storm with the opposition parties, including the Congress and the BJP, demanding an apology from him.
"The Telangana CM calls women at Nagarjuna Sagar public meeting ‘dogs’. Don't forget that this is a democracy and the women standing there are the reason you sit in that position. They are our bosses. Apologise, Chandrashekar," said Manickam Tagore, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee in-charge.
The BJP urged the chief minister to use socially acceptable vocabulary while addressing party campaigns.
“The BJP is surprised that CM KCR could speak with such impunity, especially when Nagarjuna Sagar has a huge Yadav electorate. We strongly condemn this disrespectful comparison and demand an apology for this unwarranted insult," said BJP spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao.
