Maharashtra Minister Prakash Mehta was asked to resign by the opposition after the selfie incident.
Highlights
- Prakash Mehta accused of taking selfie while surveying collapsed bridge
- BJP says he was taking a picture of the Chief Minister
- He allegedly also lost his cool and lashed out at a TV reporter
Pummelled by opposition parties and media, Maharashtra Minister Prakash Mehta has denied that he was taking a selfie while surveying a bridge that collapsed on the Mumbai-Goa highway in Maharashtra on Tuesday night, leaving at least 13 dead and nine missing.
Mr Mehta, the housing minister, visited the site in Mahad along with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and opposition Leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil on Wednesday. In a video clip, Mr Mehta -- the guardian minister of the district - can be seen using his phone to take pictures. His party BJP has, however, said in a statement that he was taking a picture of the Chief Minister and it is "wrongly being interpreted as a selfie".
When some journalists questioned Mr Mehta on the search operations and on reports that he learnt of the tragedy after nearly nine hours, he allegedly lost his cool and lashed out at a television channel reporter.
While the media has called for a boycott of Mr Mehta, opposition Congress leaders like Vijay Wadettiwar and Abdul Sattar have demanded his resignation for clicking a selfie at a time rescue operations were on to locate two buses and cars missing since the bridge collapse.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Jayant Patil said "this shows the seriousness of the government and its minister".
Even the BJP's ally Shiv Sena has been critical. Sena legislator Neelam Gorhe said "It is surprising this has come from a senior minister."
The minister was also attacked on social media: