An Indian-origin South African Mayor has accused a government official of racially abusing him and asking him to "go back to India", an incident dubbed as unwarranted backlash over the controversial Gupta wedding.
Newcastle Mayor Afzul Rehman has accused a Transport Department official of unlawfully, intentionally and seriously abusing him, local media reported.
Rehman is planning to approach both the Equality Court and the Human Rights Commission over the incident which occurred while he was renewing his driving licence last week.
Rehman said while waiting for his application to be processed, he was "accosted" by an official at a vehicle testing station in Newcastle who allegedly remarked: "Hey, Gupta, what are you doing here?"
He ignored the official, who then "cracked a joke about Indians" before heading into an office, and returning and shouting the slur a second time.
Rehman said he approached the official and asked him if he knew who he was. The official allegedly replied: "Yes, I know, you are: a Gupta."
"I responded that I take offence to his comments as I deemed it to be racist, and he said: 'You can go back to India and take offence. Here in South Africa, this country belongs to us'," Rehman said, adding that he had reported the incident to the official's superior, who later said the official wanted to apologise.
"I agreed at first, but then thought of the man in the street who will be subjected to this kind of treatment by an official in a uniform."
Rehman, who is also considering suing the official, said that because the Gupta family had made the headlines for the wrong reasons, it had unfairly impacted upon how an entire community was viewed.
The Gupta family, which has close ties to South African President Jacob Zuma, made global headlines when a plane, chartered by them, carrying around 200 guests from India, landed at Waterkloof Air Force base without proper authorisation last week, triggering widespread criticism.
The guests had arrived to attend the "memorable" wedding of billionaire Atul Gupta's daughter.
Reacting over the incident, Gupta said his family was "really saddened by the racism and xenophobia driving the current debates".
