Indian Minister: I don't accept flowers.. and whoever wants a "selfie" with me has to pay

An Indian minister has said she will tax 100 Indian rupees ($1.34) for selfies, because many do.

Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Usha Thakur, who belongs to the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India's Madhya Pradesh state, said that taking selfies is a time-consuming process and that from now on she will charge those who want it.

Thakur added that the money collected from the selfies will go to a welfare fund set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to combat the spread of COVID-19 infection in India.

"A lot of time is wasted taking selfies and we are often late for our appointments. From the organizational point of view of the party we thought that anyone who taps their phone for the purpose of taking a picture with me should pay 100 rupees to the party's local unit," the minister told the media.

"In terms of welcoming me with flowers, we all know that the goddess Laxmi resides there, so no one but the supreme god Vishnu can accept flowers. Therefore, I refuse to receive flowers and prefer books," according to Monte Carlo.

A spokeswoman for the opposition Indian National Congress, JP Danubia, criticized the minister's comments, saying, "The BJP now looks like a party of businessmen because they see profit and loss in everything."

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