New Delhi : UP Fisheries Minister Sanjay Nishad sparked controversy during a visit to a flood-affected village in Kanpur Dehat, where he referred to the rising waters of the Ganga river as a “blessing” from the holy river. His remark was met with a sharp reply from an elderly woman. She suggested that the minister and the accompanying officials should live in the village if the floods were truly a blessing.
Sanjay Nishad, who was assigned to inspect the flood situation and oversee relief in Kanpur Dehat, said stopping water from flooding villages was not controllable and that he was trying to give them emotional support. In a now-viral video, Nishad was seen visiting a flood-affected village and speaking to people, when a villager complained to the minister, saying, The water rises up to my chest and reaches all the way to that house.
Nidhad replied, You are Ganga’s children. The mother Ganga river comes to your doorstep to clean the feet of her children and this would take you directly to heaven,” Nishad, an ally of the ruling NDA government, was heard saying next. And it is the good fortune that the Ganga comes uninvited at odd hours, he added next. Nishad and his entourage reached another part of the village, where more villagers had gathered, and the minister, along with the officials, continued explaining the floods as a divine occurrence.
Following which came a savage reply from an elderly woman. Then you should stay here too and take the blessing of Ganga yourself, she was heard saying. It is not clear whether the woman’s suggestion was directed at the minister or at one of the officials. Several locals pointed out that the minister should have known it was the Yamuna river, not the Ganga, that flows through the Bhognipur tehsil of the Kanpur Dehat district, reported AajTak, India Today Digital’s Hindi sister portal.
The comment drew strong criticism from opposition leaders, who accused the minister of showing insensitivity toward the suffering of flood-affected residents. Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sharvendra Bikram Singh said it reflects the minister’s lack of sensitivity and accused the state government of failing to provide relief to the flood-affected people.
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sharvendra Bikram Singh said it reflects the minister’s lack of sensitivity and accused the state government of failing to provide relief to the flood-affected people. Congress leader and Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai called the remark an “insult of faith”, criticising the minister’s comment for deeply offending public religious sentiment.
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