Aaj Tak faces criticism after 'sexist' question posed to HRD Minister Smriti Irani

News channel Aaj Tak found itself in the middle of a social media backlash when a video of its political editor Ashok Singhal reportedly asking Human Resource Development Minister(HRD) Smriti Irani an allegedly sexist question started doing the rounds on Monday night. [caption id=“attachment_2275722” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Smriti Irani alleged that she was asked a sexist question. AFP[/caption] Smriti Irani was addressing students of  Delhi University on the challenges faced by the education system on Monday’s show titled “Smriti ki Pariksha” when the incident happened. In the video, Ashok Singhal asked Smriti Irani the following- “Narendra Modi ne sabse kam umar ki mantri banaya apko-HRD jaise bada portfolio diya. Aur degree ka bhi vivaad hai- aap graduate ya under-graduate hai…Lekin kya khubi lagi aap mein? Kya vajay thi?” “Narendra Modi handed you the Human Resource Department Ministry-which is a big portfolio, despite you being the youngest minister and then’s there’s the dispute regarding your educational certificates as well. What was the reason of him appointing you as the HRD Minister? What did he like in you?” Singh’s question angered Irani, who asked the crowd to settle down and called out to the women in the audience to pay attention to her paraphrasing of the question Singhal asked her. She went on to repeat her version of the question, in case the audience missed it- " Ashok ji ne mujhe dekhte huye kahaan Modi ko aap me kya khoobi nazar aayi?" (Ashokji looked at me and said, What did Modi see in you that he made you a minister?). On hearing the question, the audience in the protested and started booing the anchor. A few of them start chanting ‘Modi, Modi’ as well. Ashok Singhal tried explaining his version to the crowd that he was focusing on the controversy regarding her certificates, but his justification was lost in the rising voices of the protesting crowd. The show was co-anchored by Anjana Om Kashyap, who also came under criticism for being a mute spectator to the alleged sexist comment and not reacting. People took to Twitter to slam Aaj Tak and in a matter of minutes, #ShameOnAajTak started trending.

As a woman I am outraged at the question asked of @smritiirani - is this what being a man is all about

— pallavi ghosh (@_pallavighosh) June 1, 2015

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As a woman I thought @anjanaomkashyap was in the best position to save the situation .. but #ShameOnAajTak pic.twitter.com/R4xMd9NGdr

— shilpi tewari (@shilpitewari) June 1, 2015

Watch the full video here: