Bhopal: In a major embarrassment for Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Animal husbandry minister Kusum Mahdele on Sunday was caught on camera kicking a teenager boy on the head and proceeding towards her car in Panna, about 400 kilometres from here.
Reportedly, Mahdele kicked the boy in full public view when he asked her for one rupee.
In the clipping, Mahdele, one of the senior members of the state Cabinet, could be seen kicking the unidentified boy as he bows to touch her feet at a function organised to celebrate Madhya Pradesh Foundation Day near the bus stand here.
The video, which went viral shortly after the incident, also showed a security personnel in Mehdele’s profile pushing the boy and asking him to leave the spot. However, the boy could not be traced immediately after the incident.
The incident led to outrage from the public and demands for her sacking.
Surprisingly, while speaking to an English news channel, Mehdele clearly denied doing any such act. "I have not done anything wrong. Unaware of any such incident," the MP minister said.
The minister had been in the headlines for varied reasons. Recently, she was ridiculed for having sent a bizarre suggestion to the state forest department seeking a law that allows people to domesticate big cats like lions and tigers for their conservation.
Mehdele had also sparked controversy, when at a function in Damoh district, she said that no farmer commits suicide at the death of a young son, then how could they do so at the failure of their crops.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress demanded Mehdele, who holds the horticulture and food processing and the animal husbandry portfolios, be sacked. State party spokesman KK Mishra said she had no right to remain in her position for "even one minute more".
However, a defensive Bharatiya Janata Party declined to comment at this juncture. Any comment can only be made after seeing the video, said state party media head Hitesh Bajpayee.
