He beckoned the boy with fluttering fingers, his voice cool, insistent and imperious. He dangled a foot.
"Buckle," the minister, Dindigul C Sreenivasan of the AIADMK, prodded.
The boy, the son of a mahout, obeyed quietly while grown-ups grinned and guffawed all around him. A Class 9 student, he is a member of a Scheduled Tribe, guaranteed protection from persecution and discrimination by law.
Soon, Sreenivasan was delivered of his slippers. He ambled away without a word of thanks.
The incident was filmed in Mudumalai, Tamil Nadu, where Dindigul Sreenivasan had gone to open a rejuvenation camp for captive elephants. (Scroll down for video.)
'LIKE MY GRANDCHILDREN'
Dindigul (pronounced Dhin-du-kkal) Sreenivasan, the state minister for forests, claims he had no "ulterior motive".
He says he sees the boy as his grandchild.
But not even his party's alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sees his actions as benign.
"This is atrocious, arrogant and irresponsible for a minister," said Narayan Thirupathi, a spokesperson for the BJP, which does not have MLAs in the state assembly but contested the general election in coalition with the AIADMK.
"He cannot say anything but apologise. We shouldn't encourage this. Ministers should set an example," Thirupathi said.
"Atrocious, arrogant and irresponsible for a minister."
A Saravanan, a spokesperson for the main opposition party, DMK, said Dindigul Sreenivasan's actions reeked "of elitism and racism".
And his explanation, Saravanan said, was "bizarre".
"It speaks volumes that ministers feel entitled and can demand anything from a stranger because of the post they hold. They should introspect and ensure these kind of things don't happen," he said.