A senior Indian politician was widely mocked on Monday after photos showed policemen carrying him through ankle-deep muddy water while inspecting deadly floods in the country's center.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh state, was shown wearing crisp white trousers and white shoes and being carried aloft through the water in a field, trailed by his entourage.

The photo of a smiling Chouhan with his arms wrapped around the two officers made newspaper front pages and sparked an outpouring of ridicule on Twitter.