Picture of actor as Gandhi in government office kicks up row

HYDERABAD - A picture of film actor Dilip Prabhavalkar as Mahatma Gandhi at a local government office in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh has kicked up a row with the opposition seeking an apology for the alleged insult to father of the nation.

A huge picture showing “Mahatma Gandhi” behind a spinning wheel has been put up in the hall of the Warangal Zilla Parishad. The blunder was pointed out during a meeting on Wednesday by Nagarlu Venkateshwaru, floor leader of the opposition Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).

The TRS leader said the man in the picture was not Mahatma Gandhi but Dilip Prabhavalkar, who played the father of nation in the Hindi blockbuster “Lage Raho Munnabhai”. The Marathi actor also acted in “Shankardada Zindabad”, a Telugu remake of “Lage Raho Munnabhai”.

“This is an insult to father of the nation. Action should be taken against those responsible for this,” demanded the TRS leader.

Interestingly, the huge image is flanked by the pictures of Chief Minister K. Rosaiah and Zilla Parishad chairperson Lakawath Dhanawanti.

Dhanawanti, however, insisted that it was Mahatma Gandhi and the picture looks different as it was framed after zooming the image. Her clarification failed to satisfy the opposition, which sought action for the faux pas.

The meeting proved stormy for another reason too.

The chairperson, from the Congress, questioned District Collector N. Sridhar for issuing her a notice on an anonymous complaint against her. She claimed that the corruption charges levelled against her were baseless.

The opposition members demanded action against her. The collector also defended his action in sending a notice saying he has done so following directions from state Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan.