india

Updated: Nov 02, 2015 17:41 IST

Senior Madhya Pradesh minister Kusum Mehdele was caught on camera kicking a minor boy on Sunday after he begged her for money in the state’s Panna district.

The video -- shot while Mehdele was entering her car -- showed the boy bowing at Mehdele’s feet and the minister hitting him. She then left the spot in her vehicle.

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. The boy could not be traced immediately after the incident.

A policeman who was on duty during the minister’s visit said the boy begs at a bus stand. “The boy suddenly came from nowhere and bowed at the feet of ‘Jiji’ (Mehdele) and demanded Re 1,” the policeman said on condition of anonymity.

In this video frame, Madhya Pradesh minister Kusum Mehdele is seen kicking the boy’s head. (HT Photo)

Mehdele -- is in charge of law and legislative affairs, public health engineering, animal husbandry and a few other departments -- was in her hometown Panna to participate in a programme organised on the occasion of the MP Foundation Day.

She also took part in a cleanliness drive at a bus stand, the spot where the incident took place. Repeated calls to Mehdele for a comment went unanswered.

This is not the first time Mehdele has been at the centre of a controversy. She recently said if farmers did not commit suicide after their sons died, how could one believe that they killed themselves over crop damage.

The Congress condemned the minister’s act and demanded action against her.

“This shows the attitude of the state government towards the poor and the downtrodden. Drunk on power, ministers of Chouhan-led state government have been crossing their limits for a long time. Mehdele’s act exposed the chief minister’s tall claim that he and his government always stood by poor and farmers,” Congress spokesperson KK Mishra said.