A senior Indian politician was widely mocked on Monday after photos showed policemen carrying him through ankle-deep muddy water while inspecting deadly floods in the country's centre. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh state, was shown wearing crisp white trousers and white shoes and being carried aloft through the water in a field, trailed by his entourage.
The photo of a smiling Chouhan with his arms wrapped around the two officers made newspaper front pages and sparked an outpouring of ridicule on Twitter. Most comments were light-hearted in a country where politicians are almost always flanked by a legion of fawning officials and security guards. "Shame on Shivrajsinghchouhan. So embarrassing wetyourfeet my man," Twitter user Jennifer Fernandes wrote. "Shivraj training Indian athletes for 400M Relay 2020 Olympics," read another. But Chouhan was also accused of abusing his position, with comparisons drawn to the treatment of British officials during colonial times.
A top government public relations officer defended Chouhan, saying it would have been dangerous for him to wade through the waters himself. "Nobody knew if the water level would rise suddenly or if the ground below was slippery," S.K. Mishra told AFP. "There was also the danger of a snake or scorpion bite. He was desperate to meet the flood-affected people and the security guys could not have taken any chance." Floods triggered by monsoon rains have claimed hundreds of lives across India. In Madhya Pradesh at least 15 people have died after rivers burst and flooded villages, the Press Trust of India news agency said.