Days after senior Uttar Pradesh Minister Satyadev Pachauri was captured on video insulting a physically disabled employee during a surprise inspection, a Delhi-based activist has filed a complaint against him.
According to The Times of India, Dr Satendra Singh, who is associated with the University College of Medical Science and is a disability rights activist, has filed a complaint with the state commissioner for persons with disabilities in Lucknow under Section 92 (a) of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act 2016.
This is the first case under the new Rights of Persons with Disability Act 2016.
As per Section 92 (a) of the Disability Act, anyone who intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a person with disability in any place within public view could get imprisonment for six months which may extend to five years with fine.
What had the minister said?
Pachauri, the Khadi and Village Industries Minister, allegedly made a derogatory reference when he came across a ‘divyang’ contractual employee on Wednesday during an inspection of the department’s office in Dalibagh area, Lucknow.
Pachauri found that one-third of its staff were absent and went on to question officials about it.
“Yeh kya loole langdo ko rakha hai, kyaa hi kaam karega wo? (You have employed a disabled person, what work will he do),” Pachauri was purportedly heard saying in the video clip which went viral on the social media.
(With inputs from PTI)
(Feature image source: PTI)