Boris Johnson sparks furore in India with bulldozer photoshoot

Just hours after landing in India, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson finds himself in the midst of a controversy.

Johnson raised eyebrows after jumping on an excavator and waving to the media at a factory of British construction giant JCB during his visit.

The prime minister has since been called “deaf” amid outcry over the demolition of mostly Muslim homes in the country with the company’s bulldozers, India Today reported.

Johnson arrived in India on Thursday, just a day after Delhi officials ordered JCB bulldozers to demolish property mostly owned by Muslim residents.

The ordeal has sparked a public outcry as many criticized Johnson’s unfortunate timing of his JCB factory visit.

Photos shared online show the British Prime Minister smiling as he sits on a JCB bulldozer.

Johnson was slammed by Amnesty Indiawho described his visit as “not only ignorant, but his silence on the incident was deafening”.

Johnson even landed the front page of Indian publications, which also criticized his miserable timing.

The Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has dismissed claims that the demolitions were mainly targeting Muslims.

Local officials have denied claims that the demolition of the homes, which stand in an area where religious unrest erupted over the weekend, was linked to the violence.