Munde selfies kick up row in Latur

A series of “selfies” clicked by Maharashtra rural development minister Pankaja Munde, while on a visit to drought-hit Latur, has invited the ire of BJP ally, Shiv Sena, as well as the Opposition, who have termed it an “insult” to farmers and a “blatant show” by the minister. Ms Munde, however, refuted the charges and said that trenches full of water gave her a feeling of satisfaction and she could not resist clicking pictures of the same.

Ms Munde, on Saturday, was on tour at a village in drought-affected Latur district where she reviewed the de-silting work undertaken by government in the Manjara River, which has almost dried up due to insufficient rainfall. “I have taken several review meetings on the drought condition in Latur. I have made efforts to dig trenches at various places so that water can be collected in and fetched from them. But I have met with failure most of the times. Yesterday, while I was in Latur to take stock of the Manjara River, I saw some water which gave me a feeling of contentment,” she said.

“It was like finding an oasis in the desert. By levelling false allegations at me, who are these people trying to help — the drought-hit villagers or farmers

These pictures were clicked in 45 degree centigrade to show my appreciation for the work my department has done. There was no excitement in it, only contentment,” she added.

An official present at the site said Ms Munde began clicking selfies while work was going on in the background, and subsequently posted on social networking website Twitter, “Selfie with trench of said barrage (in) Manjara (river) relief to Latur”.

The Sena lost no time in taking pot-shots at Ms Munde. Reacting to the “selfie moments”, Sena spokesperson Manisha Kavande said such pictures could have been avoided as it dilutes the impact of such tours. “This was a serious tour. Entire Maharashtra is reeling under serious drought. This dilutes the importance of the visit. There was no need of a selfie. On one hand, women who are suffering are carrying water and on the other, a woman takes a selfie. It is strange,” said Ms Kavande.

Congress spokesperson Al-Nasser Zakaria termed it as a “shameful act” by the state Cabinet minister. “It is shameful that she has to post such selfies on social networking sites in a bid to show people that she is indeed concerned about the welfare of people. We need the present ministers to be less media savvy and do more work at the ground level which will definitely show in future,” he said.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said that taking selfies instead of conducting review meetings for the past year was like making a mockery of farmers. “This government is not serious about the drought. There was no planning to tackle drought since last September even where there was sufficient data available,” he said. Adding further, he said, “Ms Munde is the guardian minister of Beed and Latur and yet never took a review meeting in the past year. Now making this tour seem like a junket, she is mocking the farmers.”