(Source: ANI Screengrab)

The Bharatiya Janata Party Uttar Pradesh chief Mahendra Nath Pandey has sparked a new controversy with his recent reply to media over the issue of toll fee. According to a report by ANI, Mahendra Nath Pandey after garlanding the statue of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay at Deendyal Dham told media that he is not supposed to pay the toll fee since he is an MP. When the media asked him that he is the State BJP President but why did he not pay any toll tax while crossing the toll tax plaza when his convoy was coming from Firozabad, Pandey replied, “Any other question?” He further went on to say, “I am the member of the parliament and I am toll-free, any other question?”

News agency ANI also posted a video of the incident on its official Twitter handle in which Pandey can be heard making this statement. “Main saansad (MP) hu aur main toll free hu (I am an MP and I am toll free),” he was quoted saying by ANI. However, FinancialExpress.com cannot verify the authenticity of the video. When the reporters retaliated by saying that he is a Parliamentarian but the people who were travelling in his convoy are not Members of the Parliament, Pandey angrily replied, “I am present at the Deendayal Dham; is there any other question, then ask?”

Watch the incident here:

#WATCH: When asked why he did not pay toll tax, UP BJP Chief Mahendra Nath Pandey says, “Main saansad (MP) hu aur main toll free hu.” pic.twitter.com/mmihFDY3Tr — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 17, 2017

The drama didn’t end here, as per the ANI report. When the media tried to ask the question again, Pandey said, “If you have any other question, then ask.” Pandey is currently a BJP MP from Chandauli Lok Sabha constituency. He has replaced Keshav Prasad Maurya as UP BJP chief who guided the party to victory in the state assembly elections.

Earlier in August, Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was caught in the camera passing the toll plaza without paying the toll tax with a convoy of 175 cars in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh.