New Delhi: Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma found himself in the eye of a storm courtesy of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday, September 27, as the latter widely circulated a video showing the BJP leader allegedly slapping a cameraman during a road inspection in the Tilak Nagar Assembly constituency.
Reacting hours later, Verma also shared a video in which he claimed that AAP MLA Jarnail Singh from Tilak Nagar had been demanding cuts from them for laying the road. He alleged that the AAP was upset because the BJP had accomplished in a short time what the party had failed to achieve over the years.
Earlier in the day, Singh had claimed that Verma lost his temper and slapped the cameraman, identified as Saheb Singh, when he was raising issues concerning the road construction in the area.
In a post on X, former chief minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said, “A minister in Modi ji’s government publicly slapped a young man for highlighting corruption in road construction… Arrest this minister. I will visit Tilak Nagar tomorrow to inspect this road.”
AAP raises storm
Singh alleged that Verma had come to inspect the road and claimed that the minister reacted after issues concerning the road were raised. The video shows men pulling out chunks of the road to show the minister.
He said, “The cameraman was recording the proceedings when the alleged incident took place.”
AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj also accused Verma of slapping the cameraman and termed the alleged behaviour “shameful”.
AAP Delhi’s X handle also posted about the alleged incident and said, “Run, Pravesh Verma… how far will you run? Today, in the Tilak Nagar Assembly, seeing the road of BJP’s corruption being dug up right before his eyes, Minister Pravesh Verma got so rattled that he slapped a boy who was making a video there.”
It said AAP MLA Jarnail Singh “exposed the BJP government right in front of the BJP government’s minister’s eyes, and the minister sir lost his temper completely.”
It said that such a minister should not be in the government but in jail. “This is the Aam Aadmi Party that emerged from the movement. Neither will we bow down to this thuggery, nor will the people of Delhi. Now, the days of you people running away have arrived. Let’s see how far you run.”
Verma’s explanation
Later in the day, Verma shared a self-made video on X wherein he said, “You should know the truth behind a video currently being circulated by the AAP. Road construction work has been underway on the Vikaspuri Ring Road for the past several days. The local MLA, Jarnail Singh, had been pressuring PWD engineers to introduce him to the contractor and arrange for a commission for him; he had been making this demand for quite some time.”
He added that the PWD engineer had even lodged a complaint at the police station and was getting an FIR registered. “Because Jarnail Singh did not receive any commission, he would go to the site in the morning—after the road was laid at night—and tear it up; he would then record and post videos claiming that corruption was taking place.”
He said that while he was crossing that route, he said he wanted to personally inspect the work. “When I stopped and examined the site, I saw that the work was progressing very well. Local residents told me that this road had not been built for 15 years; it was finally being constructed after a decade and a half…”
He insisted that he even called MLA Singh and waited for him for 45 minutes. “When Jarnail Singh arrived, he came with his own workers who had been informed in advance, and he immediately began behaving rudely. When one of his workers started hurling abuses at my family, I reacted just as anyone would in the heat of the moment. I want to tell the Aam Aadmi Party that our government is doing today what you failed to accomplish; that is why it is causing you such heartburn…”
Delhi Police receives complaint against Pervesh Verma
Delhi Police has received a complaint from Saheb, with the complaint received at Vikaspuri Police Station, police sources told PTI news agency.
The officer said the facts are being verified.
Saheb has claimed to be an associate of Jarnail Singh and said that he handles the AAP MLA’s social media accounts.
“I was recording a video when Parvesh Verma snatched my phone and raised his hand at me, which is clearly visible in the video. His security personnel held my hand and grabbed me by the neck, trying to press it, and pulled me away. Three to four BJP workers were also with him. They also misbehaved with me, raised their hands at me and threatened to kill me,” Saheb Singh said.
Rahul Gandhi reacts
Condemning the incident, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the only crime of the cameraman was recording a video.
“A minister in Delhi’s BJP government appears in a video slapping a young man. His crime? He was recording a video.”
Rahul said the incident exposes the face of a power structure that has lost all fear of the voter.
“Ask a question on the street—get slapped. Ask a question about paper leaks—get baton-charged. Ask a question in Parliament—get the mic turned off.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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