If you are living in Madhya Pradesh and got a prospect to take a selfie with minister Usha Thakur, ensure you have Rs 100 to pay for a selfie. The pay-per-selfie announcement from Madhya Pradesh Minister for Tourism and Culture Usha Thakur has become the talk of the town. She claimed that taking selfies cost more time and that everyone has to pay Rs 100 to take a selfie with her and the amount will be diverted to the party's treasury. 

According to reports, Usha Thakur was addressing the reporters on Saturday in Khandwa, some 250 kilometres from Bhopal. After her interaction with the party cadres, she said taking a selfie is a time-consuming process and it will cause a delay in her programmes. By citing that everyone should pay Rs 100 for taking a selfie with her, she said that the money will go to the BJP's coffers for the party work. 

She said, "A lot of time gets wasted in clicking selfies, and often we get late by hours for our programmes. From the organizational point of view, we thought any person clicking a selfie (with her) should deposit Rs 100 in the treasury of the BJP's local mandal unit." She added that the party has mandal working committees and those who take selfies with her have to pay Rs 100 to the treasurer of the respective mandal and this money will be used for the organization. 

During her interaction with the party workers, she had asked them to welcome leaders with a book instead of presenting flower bouquets. She said, "If you would offer a book, someone would read it and learn from it. So, I request you all to offer a book instead of a bouquet. She added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also said one should offer books instead of flower bouquets. 

Recently, Usha Thakur has urged all the vaccinated people to donate Rs 500 to the PM Cares Fund. The minister's statement is not always free of controversy and she was recently criticized for not wearing the mask in public. Responding to the criticisms, Thakur claimed that she doesn't need a mask because she performs prayers every day. There was a similar pay-per-selfie incident in Madhya Pradesh in 2015 where cabinet minister Kunwar Vijay Shah had said that people taking a selfie with him must donate Rs 10 for a social cause.