Idukki (Ker), Feb 23 (PTI) Idukki District Congress Committee (DCC) president C P Mathew has landed in a fresh controversy on Wednesday after a video of him making derogatory comments against a former woman leader of the party came out.

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The senior Congress leader made the derogatory comments during a public protest meeting organised by the party in front of the Idukki Block Panchayat office.

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The protest meeting was organised against Block Panchayat president, Raji Chandran, a former Congress leader who joined the CPI(M) earlier this month resulting in the Congress-led UDF losing power in the local body.

Despite multiple attempts, Congress leaders refused to react on the issue and distanced themselves from the comments made by Mathew.

However, CPI(M) said it's the culture of the Congress party to look at women as a commodity. The party said it will move legally against the derogatory statement of Mathew.

Meanwhile, Chandran told the media that the statement itself shows the attitude of the Congress party towards women.

"The Congress leader could have questioned me or attacked me politically. But this was not right. Will stand by the CPI(M) and fight this legally," she told the media.

The UDF lost power in the Idukki block panchayat in the first week of February after Chandran quit the Congress-led alliance and joined the Left Front.

The UDF had given the president post to Chandran for one year, as per an agreement, Congress sources said. She resigned after the said term but joined the CPI(M).

The Left got a majority in the 13-member block panchayat after she joined the CPI(M) resulting in transferring the power to the LDF. Currently, Chandran is the president, backed by the Left.

Wednesday's protest meet was against the president where Mathew made many derogatory comments.

Mathew, had earlier in November last year, faced the wrath of the Barbers and Beauticians Association for his remarks belittling the profession in a function at Vandiperiyar.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)