Fame can sometimes be a burden, but going unrecognised can be much more problematic.
Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey recently discovered this the hard way after a police officer halted him from entering the venue for a foundation stone laying ceremony of a hospital in Siwan.
The incident took place on February 14.
In a video of the incident, Pandey, rather miffed at being denied entry can be seen suggesting that the cop be suspended. He can be seen getting angry over the official stopping him and asking Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Jitendra Pandey to suspend Assistant Sub-Inspector of police (ASI) Ganesh Chauhan.
"Why have you deployed such policemen who do not recognise the minister. Suspend him," Pandey can be heard saying in the video.
State Art, Culture and Youth Department minister Pramod Kumar was also present during the incident.
Pandey is a BJP politician who had previously served as the party's State President in Bihar. He is also a member of the Bihar Legislative Council.
Netizens did not take kindly to the Minister's behaviour. To quote one Twitter user, "Not recognizing a minister is not a crime for which one needs to be punished."
Some however opined that the police official should have done his homework.
As one Twitter user pointed out, "It would’ve been dangerous if urgent evacuation was needed for some reason & officer doesn’t know who the minister is among the crowd."
(With inputs from agencies)
