Parvesh Verma slap row: AAP, BJP trade barbs as protests erupt in Delhi | India News
NEW DELHI: A war of words erupted between the ruling-BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday over a video purportedly showing Delhi PWD minister Parvesh Verma slapping a young man during a road inspection in Tilak Nagar.The incident took place on Sunday during an inspection of road repair work on the Outer Ring Road between Janakpuri District Centre Chowk and the Najafgarh Drain.The video, which showed Verma slapping the man who was recording the proceedings, was widely shared on social media.The row intensified on Monday after police filed a non-cognisable report against Verma under charges of voluntarily causing hurt.Former Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal demanded Verma’s dismissal and arrest, accusing him of attacking a young man who was questioning the quality of the road work.“The minister slapped a young boy. This country does not belong to your father. You cannot slap anyone like this. This country belongs to 140 crore Indians,” Kejriwal said after reaching the Tilak Nagar area.“Gen Z does not trust you at all because of such acts by you. Parvesh Verma says he is Modi ji’s favourite. I want to tell both of them, people of the country do not accept this kind of behaviour,” he said.Kejriwal also alleged corruption in the road construction work and demanded an investigation against Verma.“This is a new road and it is already damaged. We had not seen such roads before in Delhi. We were also in government for 10 years. It is clear there has been corruption in construction of this work and should be investigated,” he said.The incident unfolded after AAP MLA from Tilak Nagar Jarnail Singh, who was present during the inspection, pulled out portions of the newly laid road surface by hand and questioned its quality. The young man was recording the proceedings when Verma allegedly slapped him.Verma hit back at the AAP on Monday, accusing its workers of trying to obstruct government work.“I warn you… you remember me, right?” Verma said, directly addressing Kejriwal.He also rejected the description of the man as a member of Gen Z.“That person is not any Gen-Z. He is a goon who has an FIR registered against him for assaulting an MCD official three months back. He was arrested also,” Verma said.Verma also accused Jarnail Singh of seeking a commission from the road contractor and said the video being circulated by the AAP did not show the full context of the incident.The PWD has separately filed a complaint at Tilak Nagar police station against Jarnail Singh, accusing the MLA of obstructing officials from carrying out their duties.The police action has further intensified the political confrontation. AAP Delhi chief and former Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that police had delayed registering an FIR against Verma despite the video being widely available.“First, the DCP told us to send all the people and said they were ready to register an FIR. They wasted two hours of our time and did not register the FIR. So we asked the ACP, you have been saying that you have been conducting an inquiry for the past 24 hours, what inquiry have you conducted so far? They have no answer… This means that the video which the whole of India has seen has still not been seen by the ACP, DCP and SHO of the police. So they are directly acting as Parvesh Verma’s lawyers, and they are working to provoke the youth of the country because if the youth do not get justice, they will take to the streets.”
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Delhi minister and BJP leader Kapil Mishra also joined the attack on Kejriwal, linking the row to the AAP’s political prospects in Punjab.“People of Punjab are fed up with AAP government; whenever Kejriwal panics, it is a sign that his party will lose elections”, Mishra said.Meanwhile, members of the Sikh community staged a protest outside Verma’s residence on Monday over the slapping incident.Police deployed heavy security and barricades near his residence on Janpath Road, and several protesters were detained as they tried to reach the house.
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