Singh, in his defence, said there was no urinal for several kilometres on the national highway when he felt the urge to urinate and had to relieve himself outside a roadside eatery.
A photograph of Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh relieving himself in the open went viral on social media on Thursday, causing major embarrassment to the Central government, which is spending hundreds of crores on the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA).
Singh, in his defence, said there was no urinal for several kilometres on the national highway when he felt the urge to urinate and had to relieve himself outside a roadside eatery.
In the undated photograph, Singh is seen answering the call of nature on the sidewalls of a pink-coloured building, while his security personnel stand guard looking the other way. Sources said the photograph was likely clicked during one of Singh's visits to his constituency Purvi Champaran in Bihar.
While netizens trolled the minister on social media, the Opposition too did not let go of the opportunity to target Singh and the BJP. JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi said that Singh exposed the hollowness of the cleanliness mission.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal, which is under attack from the BJP over alleged "benami deals", was among the first to share the photo saying the minister "gave a boost" to Centre's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. "Kadi suraksha ke beech kendriya krishi mantri sukhaad prabhavit kshetra mein sinchai yojana ki shuruat karte hue. (Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh inaugurating an irrigation project in drought-hit area amid tight security)," the tweet said.
Singh's gesture has drawn flak from netizens, many of whom asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the strongest advocate of his flagship SBA, to sack him from the cabinet. "Just imagine how much cess we paid and how ministers have transformed," said one while another said it was time for Modi to do a cabinet reshuffle.
There were others who did not refrain from taking a dig at the minister, with the puns ranging from "peenal action" by @ajith27 to "VIPee" by @Sonal_MK.
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