Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Saturday advised the people of his Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar to "beat up with bamboo sticks" those officials who appeared insensitive to their concerns.
The minister made the remark while addressing a function organised by an agriculture institute near Begusarai.
The minister, who holds fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy farming portfolios, rued that he frequently receives complaints from common citizens that officials concerned often paid little heed to their complaints.
"I say to them, why do you come to me for such small things. MPs, MLAs, village mukhiyas, DMs, SDMs, BDOs... these are all under obligation to serve the people. If they do not listen to you, pick up a bamboo stick with both hands and give a crushing blow on their head," said Mr Singh.
"If even that does not work, then Giriraj shall throw his weight behind you," he said, evoking applause from the crowds even as dignitaries sharing the dais squirmed in their seats.
A BJP leader in the Bihar capital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "Giriaj Singh is a mass leader who has to be responsive towards public anger. We should take his statement figuratively, not literally."
12-Year-Old Beaten, Tied To A Railway Track In Bihar Over Theft Suspicion 6 Dead, 3 Injured In Car-Auto Collision In Bihar's Begusarai "Learn From Hemant Soren": BJP Leader Jabs Arvind Kejriwal After Arrest Israeli Jets Strike Yemen Rebels After Deadly Attack On Tel Aviv Woman On Scooter With 2 Kids Punched, Left Bleeding In Pune Road Rage Case After Retest, Haryana NEET Centre With Most Top Scorers Gave This Result... US Slams ICJ's Opinion On Israeli Occupation Of Palestinian Territories Flights Resume After Massive Microsoft Outage Disrupts Operations CrowdStrike Bug hit 8.5 Million Windows Devices, Says Microsoft Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.