BJP red-faced as Maharashtra water minister pees in open
mumbai — The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here was left red-faced on Monday after a video of a senior minister peeing in public went viral, with many raising questions on the government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
The video of Ram Shinde, minister for water conservation in Maharashtra, urinating in public went viral on World Toilet Day, despite government efforts to stop people relieving themselves in the open. Shinde was filmed answering the call of nature in a field by the side of a road on Saturday. The clip spread online the following day. November 19 marks the UN’s official World Toilet Day, which aims to raise awareness about the health risks caused by a lack of lavatories. Shinde defended his actions with an excuse familiar to many, effectively saying: “When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go”.
“I have been travelling continuously for the last one month reviewing the Jalyukta Shivar scheme,” he told the Press Trust of India, referring to droughtprone Maharashtra’s water conservation programme.
“Continuous travelling in high temperatures and dust made me ill. I was suffering from fever and when I couldn’t find a toilet while travelling, I had to relieve myself in the open.”
The Nationalist Congress Party state spokesperson Nawab Malik said that the Minister’s act showed that the government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a failure.—