Mumbai, April 18: Maharashtra Rural Development Minister PankajaMunde has come under the fire from ruling ally Shiv Sena as well as the opposition for clicking selfie while on a visit to brought- hit Marathwada. Munde took the selfies with the dried-up Manjarariver as the backdrop while on a visit to the parched region to review desilting work on the river bed.“Maharashtra is facing severe brought. Women and even kids are going far away from their home for getting water. And in such a serious situation, the ministers are clicking selfies,” Shiv SenaspokenspersonManishaKayande said.
“This could have been avoided. It lessens the impact of such tours. Entire Maharashtra is reeling under serious brought. There was no need for selfie. It is mainly women who are suffering carrying water and a woman takesselfies. It is strange,” she added.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. “Selfie with trench of said barrage (in) Manjara (river)..relief to Latur,” she had tweeted.
Congress spokesperson Al-Nasser Zakaria termed the ‘selfie moment’ as a “shameful act “ by a 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.”he said.We need the present ministers to be less media savvy and do more work at the ground level which will definitely show in fiture.” he said. NCP spokespersonNawab Malik said taking selifies instead of conducting review meetings is like making a monery of farmers’ woes.
This government is not serious about drought. There was no planning to tackle drought even where there was sufficient data available months ahead. She is the Guardian minister of Beed and Latur and yet never held a review meeting in the last one year.Now making this tour looks like a junket , she is mocking the farmers,” he said.
