I was not sleeping, I was pensive :Ashwini Kumar Choubey

A day after he was spotted sleeping in the presser organised over mounting encephalitis death tolls in Bihar, MoS Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey argued that he was not asleep but rather deeply engrossed in thought and was pensive.

"I also do deep thinking and was pensive. I was not sleeping," said Choubey when asked about the incident.

The incident which brought much embarrassment to the center took place on Sunday when Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan held a press conference is Muzaffarpur with MoS for Health Ashwani Kumar Choubey and Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey. Choubey was spotted sleeping in the conference.

Soon photos and videos of Choubey taking a nap started making rounds on social media much to the embarrassment of the union government. Yesterday, people created ruckus at a government-run hospital in Muzaffarpur while Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan was visiting to take stock of the situation.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said the Centre would set up a state-of-the-art research centre here within a year to deal with the menace of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES).