Nadda during an interaction with BJP leaders through video conferencing on Saturday. (PTI)

While announcing the 21-day lockdown Prime Minister Narendra Modi had drawn the Lakshman Rekha analogy while appealing to the people to stay home.

In the backdrop of a grave humanitarian crisis — millions of migrant workers poured out of cities across the country and struggled to trek back home hundreds of miles through deserted highways, some getting caught and facing police action as they tried to hitch rides on vegetable trucks — the pictures of ministers in front of the television showed up the Narendra Modi government in a poor light.

Javadekar was not the only BJP leader forced to delete a tweet after a backlash.

On Friday evening, party president J.P. Nadda deleted a tweet that showed the lack of concern among leaders of the current regime for the crisis that has hit India’s poor.

“BJP national president @JPNadda handed over 10 food packets to police personnel to be distributed among the poor and the needy,” a tweet from the BJP’s verified official handle @BJP4India said on Friday evening.

The irony of 10 packets when thousands were going hungry was not lost. After some time, the tweet was deleted and replaced with one that claimed the ruling party was trying to feed crores.

“BJP president @JPNadda today started the initiative to reach food to the needy. BJP’s one crore workers will join this drive and feed 5 people each day. This way 5 crores needy people will be fed,” the second tweet said.

The BJP claims to be the world’s largest political party with 11 crore workers.

If the Prime Minister has pinned faith on the Lakshman Rekha to take care of the lockdown, his colleague has gone one up on him by rooting for the entire Ramayan.

Information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday tweeted a picture of himself “watching Ramayana” in his drawing room, only to delete and replace it with one that showed him “working” from home.

“I am watching Ramayana, are you?” Javadekar had tweeted in the morning, some time after Doordarshan started re-telecast of the epic serial at 9am. Turned out in tracksuit and flip flops, the minister appeared to be enjoying his weekend morning.

The tweet triggered outrage, with user after user posting pictures and reports of migrant workers struggling to make their way home after being left jobless in the lockdown, walking hundreds of miles. The hashtag #AalsiJavadekar” (lazy Javadekar) started trending on Twitter.

The Union minister then deleted the tweet and replaced it with another that showed him speaking on the phone while looking at some papers, with an official seated in front of him. The caption was: “Home has become office! Connecting and coordinating with officers of my Ministries for facilitation during the lockdown.”

Earlier, the minister had declared that on “popular demand” the national broadcaster had decided to re-telecast Ramayan and

Mahabharat to keep people engaged during the lockdown. He had urged viewers to post pictures on Twitter of them watching Ramayan. Several ministers had posted pictures in response on Saturday morning.