New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley faced a major embarrassment on Wednesday after his Facebook post on ‘World UFO Day’ drew criticism from his followers with some advising him to focus on the problems faced by common man and not things related to outer space.
The minister deleted the post after within hours after it invoked angry reactions.
Mr Jaitley, who frequently uses Facebook to post official messages and communicate with people, wrote that the day is “dedicated to the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects. This day is celebrated to raise awareness about existence of unidentified flying objects and with those intelligent beings from outer space.”
Immediately after his post, Facebook users started criticising him.
“Sir Finance Minister, on Wednesday, we, the people of India are celebrating the price hike day instead of Unidentified Flying Objects day,” a user responded.
The sarcastic comment was in reference to the government’s recent decisions to raise prices of petrol, diesel and LPG and hike in rail fares.
Another user wrote: “Sir, instead of talking about outer space, please confine your discussion on hardships faced by the common men.”
Mr Jaitley, who has already indicated that the government will take bold moves and not engage in “mindless populism”, is scheduled to present the Budget 2014-15 on July 10.
