BJP MP seen smiling during jawan's funeral, draws flak

In an embarrassment for the saffron party, BJP Lok Sabha member Sakshi Maharaj was caught on camera smiling at the funeral procession of a CRPF jawan, who was among those martyred in the terror attack at Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir on Thursday.

Sakshi Maharaj was seen smiling in the video, that went viral on the social networking sites, at the funeral procession of Ajit Kumar Azad, in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district, about 60 km from here, on Saturday.

The MP was atop an army truck, that carried the body of the martyr, and was accompanied by army and civil officials besides other local saffron party leaders.

Sakshi Maharaj, who represents Unnao in the Lok Sabha, drew flak of the users on the social media platforms.

Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi took to Twitter to slam Sakshi Maharaj. "They have no shame," she said in her post.

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Many other users also criticised the saffron-clad MP for what they termed display of "insensitivity" at the funeral procession.

Some users said that Sakshi Maharaj, it appeared, was conducting a roadshow. "It was a funeral procession of a brave soldier...not a roadshow of BJP," a user tweeted.

The UP government had directed its ministers and other leaders to take part in the last journey of the martyrs in different parts of the state and be present at the cremation.