Jaitley's UFO Facebook post angers public

With many Indians worrying about the threat of tough measures in their new government's first budget next week, a Facebook post suggesting the finance minister might be pondering less earthly matters quickly roused anger on Wednesday.

Arun Jaitley published a message celebrating World UFO Day on Wednesday on his Facebook page.

"This day is celebrated to raise awareness about the existence of UFOs and intelligent beings from outer space," said the post, which included a depiction of a flying saucer in a wheat field.

World UFO Day is a day dedicated to spotting and proving the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects. It was first celebrated in 2001, according to worldufoday.com.

A member of Jaitley's personal staff confirmed their team had posted the message about World UFO Day and said the account had not been hacked. The post was deleted half an hour after Reuters contacted the team.

"Sir, on Wednesday, we, the people of India, are celebrating the price rise day instead of World UFO Day," a V Bhushan Bhushansharma said in a comment on Jaitley's post, referring to recent moves to raise rail fares and fuel prices.