Pankaja Munde's 'smiling' drought selfies

Maharashtra Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde has come under fire from ruling ally Shiv Sena as well as the opposition for clicking selfies while on a visit to drought-hit Marathwada. Munde took the selfies with the dried-up Manjara river as the backdrop while on a visit to the parched region to review desilting work on the river bed.

The BJP leader was also trolled on Twitter after her ‘selfies’ went viral on social media. According to an official present at the site, Munde started clicking selfies with work going on in the background and then posted them on a social networking site.

Congress spokesperson Al-Nasser Zakaria termed the ‘selfie moment’ as a “shameful act” by a cabinet minister. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said taking selfies instead of conducting review meetings is like making a mockery of farmers’ woes.

Last week, revenue minister Eknath Khadse faced flak for deciding to take a chopper to a village in drought-hit Latur district, leading to wastage of nearly 10,000 litre water for a special helipad.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said taking selfies instead of conducting review meetings is like making a mockery of farmers’ woes.