Minister lands in row over selfie videos during flood survey

Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan on Friday stoked a controversy after two selfie video clips surfaced purportedly showing him smiling and waving hands cheerfully as he surveyed parts of the flood-hit district.

This prompted the opposition NCP to rebuke Mahajan.

Questioning if the minister was on "tourism", the NCP asked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to seek resignation of the "insensitive" water resources minister.

In one of the clips, an unknown person accompanying Mahajan is seen taking selfie video as they rode through water in parts of Kolhapur in western Maharashtra.

The BJP minister can be seen smiling and waving hands in this clip.

In another clip, Mahajan is seen inspecting the flood situation standing on a road as the person filmed the selfie video.

"Minister @girishdmahajan and officials were smiled, posed selfie. Are the rulers left with any sensitivity? @Dev_Fadnavis ji take resignation of this insensitive minister, suspend the officials concerned," NCP leader Dhananjay Munde tweeted.

Expressing grief over death of a child due to floods, Leader of the Opposition in the State Legislative Council Munde of the NCP also asked Mahajan if he feels ashamed of his approach to the situation.

Parts of Maharashtra, particularly the Sangli and Kolhapur districts, are in the grip of devastating floods over the last one week following heavy rainfall in the region.

As of Thursday, over two lakh people have been evacuated to safer places in the flood-ravaged districts.