New Delhi, Feb. 21 -- Maharashtra Environment Minister Pankaja Munde has drawn a parallel between the sacrifice of soldiers at the border and the cutting of trees, including mangroves, for development, triggering sharp reactions on social media.

Activist Anjali Damania posted the viral clip on social media platform X on Saturday, saying she felt sorry for the minister's "intelligence" over the comparison.

Defending the rationale behind felling trees for development during an interaction at Mumbai Climate Week, Munde said, "The way a mother brings up her son and then has the audacity or guts to send him to the border to fight for the country, similarly, if we grow trees, we may have to cut them, but we can plant them somewhere else.

"Yo...