Photos: Newly Appointed Deputy Minister's Post Sparks Controversy

Since yesterday, a post by newly appointed Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Gemafin Gasparyan has been actively discussed on Facebook: "The hand you shake doesn’t get dirty, your hand gets dirty."

While the deputy minister's post has received some admirers, others have reminded him of his responsibilities, insisting that a public official should not be allowed to make such statements publicly, as it tarnishes the image of the ministry and the minister’s position.

Despite the backlash, Deputy Minister Gemafin Gasparyan deleted the scandalous post from his Facebook page.

In a conversation with Panorama.am, the press secretary of the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Sona Martirosyan, stated that the deputy minister has not faced any consequences because it was his personal Facebook page, and the post was made during non-working hours; “however, this issue has been discussed with the minister.”

Interestingly, after a brief search operation, we found that Gasparyan had also made similar statements in the past when he was not holding a government position, one of which stated, "Tell a wise man once, and a fool a thousand times." Moreover, he cautioned, "Don’t fall into that abandoned trap, that abandoned demagoguery field, don’t subjectivize Armenians; they have nothing to lose, their problem is to drag you down with them to create a platform for returning in the future—so go ahead, what can I say?" Regarding this topic, he also stated: "The hand you shake doesn’t get dirty, your hand gets dirty."