Ajmer: A photograph of a Rajasthan minister Shambhu Singh Khatesar urinating near a wall in Ajmer, next to a campaign poster of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has gone viral on social media.  Shambhu Singh Khatesar began to defend himself by stating that urinating in the open is "an age-old tradition" and he has done nothing wrong.

The minister has caused two major embarrassments to the BJP. One: urinating near a poster featuring Vasundhara Raje. Two: the act is clearly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat mission. 

The minister, in the beginning, denied that he urinated near the poster. "The photo of me urinating against a wall is not near the campaign poster," he said to the media. Khatesar also said, "I did not disobey PM Modi’s objective as defecating in public may cause diseases, urinating in the open was not an issue, as long as it is done in a secluded area. The area where I urinated was completely isolated. If a man urinates in such a place, dirt and disease cannot spread."

He also mentioned that he was forced to urinate in the open as there was no urinal nearby for kilometres at a stretch and he had a busy morning schedule in the election rally.