New Delhi: A purported video showing a woman washing the feet of a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA in Tripura drew public ire after it went viral on social media on Friday, May 20.The incident took place when Badharghat legislator Mimi Majumder visited Suryapara, an inundated locality in her constituency in West Tripura district on Thursday night.The MLA, however, claimed the woman had washed her feet “out of love and affection”.The viral video shows the woman, identified as Bharati Debnath, was seen washing the feet of Majumder with soap and water and drying it with a towel after she had completed the inspection of the locality. The Wire has not been able to independently verify the veracity of the video.Majumder, a former headmistress of Badharghat Higher Secondary School, had joined the BJP only a few days before securing a ticket for the assembly by-elections in 2019.“The elderly woman washed my feet out of love and affection for an MLA. She did it with motherly care. It should not be seen as something negative. This shows how much respect a legislator could earn from the people by doing good work. In today’s world, no one can be forced to wash anyone’s feet or do anything like that,” PTI quoted Majumder as saying.The Tripura unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) shared the video on its official Facebook page that went with the caption, “A woman had to wash the feet of MLA Mimi Majumder after a photoshoot.”The post has garnered 31,000 views, shared 391 times and received 148 comments until Friday evening.Terming the incident “shocking”, Youth Congress president Rakhu Das said, “It shows the mindset of a ruling party MLA. They (BJP) don’t have sympathy for the people during difficult times. They are busy in photoshoots for building public image.”The latest incident comes exactly a day after another BJP MLA from Assam, Sibu Misra, was carried by a local journalist on his back through flooded waters, drawing social media outrage. Misra defended the piggyback ride by terming it as a “sign of affection” by his constituents.The MLA said he wasn’t well and he knew the journalist well and was offered help. “I did not realise the media would make it such a big issue. I am a two-time MLA, they know me, know my work,” the Indian Express quoted Misra as saying.Meanwhile, in the last few days, Assam and several parts of the Northeast have been receiving heavy rains resulting in floods. In Assam alone, more than six lakh people across 27 districts have been reportedly displaced while at least nine have lost their lives.(With PTI inputs)