‘Girls focus on make-up more than studies’

Chhattisgarh education minister Kedar Kashyap on Wednesday sparked a row by attributing poor show by girls in examinations to their penchant for make-ups. “Girl students now-a-days are focusing more on make-ups than studies,” Mr Kashyap, a tribal leader of Bastar, observed while attending “Lok Suraj Abhiyan”, a campaign launched by chief minister Raman Singh to connect with the rural folk in the state, at Chetbagaon in north Chhattisgarh district of Jashpur.

He was the second minister in the Raman Singh Cabinet whose “insensitive” remarks landed the state government in acute embarrassment in recent times. Earlier, state panchayati raj minister had triggered a controversy.

The Opposition Congress took serious exception to the remarks by Mr Kashyap, describing it “anti-women”.

The party demanded public apology from the minister for showing disrespect to women.