Anger over child tying shoe laces of minister

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Cooperatives Minister Gauri Shankar Bisen was Saturday  at the centre of a row after television cameras caught him getting his shoe laces tied by a minor tribal pupil at a function in Chhindwara district in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister was in Chhindwara on Friday along with union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath to lay the foundation stone of a road.

Bisen, who has a knack for remaining in the spotlight for making controversial statements, got his shoe laces tied not once but twice by the school boy.

The boy tied the laces first on the stage where the function was held and later at the field where the foundation stone was to be laid.

Congress threat

The issue has given state Congress leaders fresh reasons to attack Bisen and the BJP. "This act shows the attitude of Bisen towards tribals and minor students. It is also another example of the kind of ministers in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet. The Congress will hit the road soon on the issue to get Bisen removed from the cabinet," said Congress spokesperson K.K. Mishra.

"I condemn yesterday's act. It is very shameful and unfortunate that it happened," Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath Saturday told reporters in Chhindwara district, some 270 km from Bhopal.

"I was sitting on stage but I had no idea. I was talking to other people. I came to know about it eight hours after the incident," he added.

Bisen was in Chhindwara on Friday along with Kamal Nath to lay the foundation stone of a road.