The viral video clip showed Sibu Misra, who represents the Lumding constituency in the Hojai district, being carried by the journalist on his back to a rescue boat amid ankle-dip water.
Guwahati: At a time when lakhs of people have been displaced due to the floods in Assam, a viral video showing a BJP MLA taking a piggyback ride to safety has drawn the ire of the people along with potshots from the Congress and the Trinamool Congress.
BJP’s Sibu Misra, who represents the Lumding constituency in the Hojai district, was on a visit to the flood-affected areas in his constituency when a small clip showed him taking a piggyback ride on a man who was identified as a local journalist. The clip showed Sibu Misra being carried by the journalist on his back to a rescue boat amid ankle-dip water.
Watch it here:
Meanwhile, the TMC in a tweet said, “The water is so deep that the @BJP4Assam MLA just CANNOT walk this short distance! He needs special attention and rightly so! When nearly 6.62 lakh people are suffering across the state, all attention and care must be directed towards BJP MLAs! SHAME.”
“My SHOEs are too costly to step on mud!! I’ll rather ride on a Reporter,” tweeted the Congress.
Meanwhile, the death toll due to the floods has mounted to nine in Assam and over six lakh people were displaced after heavy rains wreaked a havoc since Tuesday. While around 20 districts have gone under water, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a red alert and predicted more rains.
According to reports, while the Army, National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been pressed into rescue operations, the Assam government has asked the Indian Air Force to airdrop essential food items in Dima Hasao district.
