Maharashtra Minister Ram Shinde has landed himself in a controversy after a video clip purportedly showing him urinating in the open surfaced on social media.
The incident occurred at a point on the Solapur-Barshi stretch, when the water conservation minister was travelling in his car.
Ironically, the video hit social media on Sunday, 19 November, which was celebrated as the World Toilet Day, causing major embarrassment to the ruling alliance.
When contacted, Shinde told PTI that he urinated in the open as he was feeling ill after touring the state nearly a month for the government's flagship Jalyukta Shivar scheme.
I have been travelling continuously for the last one month reviewing the Jalyukta Shivar scheme. Continuous travelling in high temperatures and dust made me ill. I was suffering from fever and when I couldn’t find a toilet while travelling, I had to relieve myself in the open.Ram Shinde
“Appoint Shinde as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’s Brand Ambassador”
However, the opposition NCP said the minister not finding a toilet on a highway shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has failed.
"It is now proved that the government has been looting people in the name of Swachh Bharat cess on petrol and diesel,” NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said.
If the minister did not find a toilet on a highway, it means the government has all along been looting people in the name of Swacch Bharat cess on fuel. The minister has proved that the whole scheme is nothing but a big failure.Nawab Malik, Spokesperson, NCP
The Congress also took a dig demanding that Shinde be appointed as the “brand ambassador” of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for the state.
Taunting the minister, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said Shinde proved on World Toilet Day that Maharashtra has become open defecation free.
...He should be appointed as the brand ambassador for Swacch Bharat mission of the state government.
He accused the government of patting its back on “non-existing development”.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS.)
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