Just hours after touching down in India, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has found himself in the midst of a controversy.
Johnson raised eyebrows after jumping on top of an excavator and waving to the media at a British construction giant JCB factory during his visit.
The PM has since been dubbed “tone deaf” amid the outcry over the destruction of mostly Muslim homes in the country using the company’s bulldozers, India Today reported.
Johnson arrived in India on Thursday, just one day after Delhi officials ordered JCB bulldozers to destroy properties that mainly Muslim residents own.
The ordeal has resulted in a public outcry, as many slammed Johnson’s unfortunate timing of his JCB factory visit.
Photos shared online show the British PM smiling as he’s perched on a JCB bulldozer.
Boris Johnson poses with Sadhus, or Hindu holy men, in front of the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple, in Gandhinagar on April 21, 2022.AP 
Boris Johnson scatters rose petals during his visit at the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple on April 21, 2022 in Gandhinagar, India. Getty Images
Johnson has been slammed by Amnesty India, who called his visit “not only ignorant but his silence on the incident is deafening.”
Johnson even landed himself on the front page of Indian publications, which also criticized his woeful timing.
Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi gesture before their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on April 22, 2022. POOL/AFP via Getty Images 
Boris Johnson performs during a ceremony on the sacred image of Shri Neelkanth Varni during his visit at the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple on April 21, 2022. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
The Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has denied claims that the demolitions mainly target Muslims.
Local officials have disputed claims that the demolitions of the homes, which stand in an area where religious riots broke out over the weekend, were linked to the violence.