The chief minister of a state in central India has courted a controversy after a video showing two women washing his feet surfaced.
The video shot at an event to mark the occasion of Guru Purnima to remember and honour one’s guru or teacher, shows Raghubar Das, the chief minister of Jharkhand standing on a huge metal plate and praying as two women wash his feet with water and rose petals.
#WATCH: Women wash feet of #Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das on a 'Guru Mahotsav' event held at Jamshedpur's Brahma Lok Dham. (July 7) pic.twitter.com/86wUeIpKzh — ANI (@ANI_news) July 9, 2017
The video went viral after a news agency posted it on its social media channel on Sunday, sparking outrage among activists and opposition parties.
Women’s rights activist Annie Raja said the incident was “condemnable”.
“He [the Chief Minister] should have prevented this from happening,” Ms Raja told news agency ANI.
"That is unacceptable. This practice is not acceptable and is not becoming of a CM," said another activist Brinda Adige.
The incident occurred in Jamshedpur on Friday in Jharkhand, a state which is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party which also is in government in the centre at Delhi.
The state government has defended the Chief Minister Das, saying the act wasn't meant to denigrate women, a part of an age-old tradition.
"When the matters of washing feet or serving comes then why only women are made to do that?" asked Ranjeet Ranjan, a leader of the opposition Congress party.
