Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said he was caught by surprise when two policemen picked him up to cross a nullah with ankle-deep water recently during his visit to flood-hit areas across the state. The chief minister’s clarification comes two days after pictures of him being lifted by the security officials went viral.

Chouhan spoke about the two pictures that did the rounds on social media and attracted flak from general public and the Opposition and told ANI, "Before I could understand, two policemen lifted me and crossed the bridge." Of the two pictures, one showed the 57-year-old chief minister being carried through ankle-deep water while in another one he was seen walking barefoot through mud while an aide was carrying his shoes. Earlier, government officials had said that the decision to carry the chief minister was taken, as they did not want to take the risk of the chief minister getting hurt or being bitten by snakes.

Chouhan also came down heavily on the reportage style of the incident and asked why only those two particular pictures were circulated. "I visited many villages to meet flood victims. However, only that photo was reported heavily."