Deesa: In a big embarrassment for Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, one of her senior ministers was caught on camera misspelling the word elephant while taking a class during an impromptu visit to a government school in Deesa.
The images of the minister, Shankar Chaudhary, pointing at the blackboard after writing "E-L-E-P-H-E-N-T", became viral on the social media.
For what he now claims an 'intentional gaffe', the minister was trolled on the social media with many taking pot shots at him and saying that he will one day become the HRD Minister of India.
Beware!
This Gujarat minister might be India's HRD minister one day. pic.twitter.com/0tQB1BsPk4
— Ankit Lal (@AnkitLal) June 17, 2016
Gujarat minister Shankar chaudhry doesn't know spelling of elephant while he is having MBA degree n this can happen in #BJP rule only.
— KRK (@kamaalrkhan) June 17, 2016
After realising the potential damage his error can do to the BJP government, Chaudhary claimed that this was a 'teaching tactic'.
Chaudhary, who is the minister in charge of urban housing, transport and health, said that he was testing the students and wanted to see if anyone could spot the error.
Though not many were convinced with his clarification, his party - the ruling BJP - jumped to his defence, saying that he was trying to explain to students how certain words are spelt and pronounced differently.
Chaudhary had earlier courted a controversy when he was dragged to a court by an activist who alleged that his MBA degree was fake.
In 2012, he was accused of surfing obscene sites on his iPad inside the Gujarat Assembly, a charge that he stoutly denied. A forensic lab later said no offensive content had been found on his iPad.
The minister and others in the government have been touring Gujarat for the "Shala Praveshotsav", a scheme to encourage school admissions.
