NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched a scatching attack against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following a viral video purportedly showing Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Verma slapping a young man during a road inspection in West Delhi’s Tilak Nagar. Taking to social media platform X, Gandhi claimed the incident reflects the high-handedness of a governing regime that no longer fears accountability from voters.
Reiterating his sharp critique of the ruling party, Gandhi stated that questioning power in the country is now systematically met with state-sponsored suppression. “A BJP minister from the Delhi government is seen slapping a young man in a video. His crime? He was making a video,” Gandhi wrote, noting that the youth was simply filming the surface of a road being dug up right in front of the minister.
“This is the face of a power that no longer fears the voters. Ask a question on the street — a slap. Ask a question on paper leaks — a lathi charge. Ask a question in Parliament — the mic is switched off. Vote theft buys this — not just the result, but the arrogance that follows,” Gandhi added, asserting that a government taking victory for granted demands “silence and blind devotion” rather than citizen consent.
The viral footage was recorded during a joint road inspection in Tilak Nagar involving Minister Parvesh Verma and local Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Jarnail Singh. The victim, identified as Saheb Singh—a social media coordinator for the AAP MLA—alleged that he was recording the crumbling condition of the newly constructed road when Verma snatched his phone and struck him.
The incident sparked widespread condemnation across opposition ranks, with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal demanding Verma’s immediate arrest and AAP leaders holding public demonstrations in West Delhi.
In response to Gandhi’s criticism, Parvesh Verma dismissed the Congress leader’s remarks on X, stating, “Rahul ji, please leave it brother, you don’t know anything”. Defending his conduct, Verma claimed the video lacked context and alleged that AAP workers had provoked the situation by hurling abuses at his family and trying to obstruct government work during the inspection.
While the Delhi Police confirmed receiving cross-complaints from both parties, opposition parties continue to demand strict disciplinary and legal action against the minister.
