The protesting minister was offered to wear slippers by Jyotiraditya Scindia
Annoyed over the poor condition of roads in his hometown, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh minister Pradhuman Singh Tomar had announced in October that he would continue to walk barefoot till the condition of the roads improve. Mr. Tomar on Sunday started wearing slippers on the assurance of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, 66 days after he gave them up seeking completion of road works. Mr. Scindia also assured him that the work will be soon completed and inaugurated.
In a video shared by Mr. Tomar, the minister is offered a pair of new slippers by Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday. After wearing the slippers at the request of Mr. Scindia, the minister also touched his feet.
"Gwalior in-charge minister Mr. Tulsi Silawat ji, BJP district president Mr. Abhay Chaudhary ji blessed me by giving me slippers to wear in the presence of godlike leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party," read the tweet, translated from Hindi.
Watch the video here:
"Today is a memorable day of my life. I want to tell you that about 3 months ago, I had resolved that until Gendewali road, Laxman Talaiya's road and Jayarogya Hospital's Rajpayaga road are repaired, I would also remain barefoot to feel the pain of the people every day," he further tweeted.
On October 20, while conducting an inspection, Pradyuman Singh noticed the poor condition of the roads in his district. During this, the public narrated the pain that they were suffering due to the poor roads in the area. After that, Mr Tomar apologised to the public and vowed not to wear shoes till three roads in the city -- located in Laxman Talaiya, Gende Wali road and Hospital road -- are not repaired.
"Unless the condition of the roads of the Gwalior assembly constituency is improved, I will not wear slippers and shoes. I will remain barefoot," he said. "It is my belief that when I walk barefoot, I will feel the pain of pebbles and bad roads. I will realise the trouble of the public," Mr Tomar added.
Mr Tomar was among several Congress MLAs who quit the party in March 2020 along with Scindia, leading to the collapse of the Kamal Nath government. He won a by poll on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket in 2020 and was made energy minister in the Chouhan government.