Road quality row turns ugly as Parvesh Verma slaps man in Delhi: ‘He abused my family’

BJP's Verma slaps a man during a road inspection, prompting AAP allegations of corruption while Verma defends actions amid controversy over road quality.

A political row erupted in Delhi on Sunday after Public Works Department (PWD) minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Parvesh Verma was seen slapping a man, later identified as Saheb Singh, who was recording a road inspection in west Delhi’s Vikaspuri. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the incident followed questions over the quality of road construction, while Verma said he reacted after AAP workers allegedly abused his family.

Several videos of the incident in the Tilak Nagar assembly constituency circulated on social media. (X screengrab/@AamAadmiParty)

Several videos of the incident in the Tilak Nagar assembly constituency circulated on social media. In one video, AAP MLA Jarnail Singh is seen pulling out chunks of the newly laid road surface with his hands and showing them to Verma. Later, Verma is seen pushing down the hands of a man recording him before appearing to slap him. People at the spot then intervene and separate the two.

Singh said Saheb Singh was associated with his team and was recording the proceedings when the confrontation occurred. He questioned why the station house officer of Vikaspuri police station, who was present at the spot, did not apprehend the minister.

“This road should be investigated by the Central Bureau Of Investigation. All the videos of the incident from the moment he arrived at the spot are available for everyone to see,” Singh said.

Verma later posted a three-minute video on X defending his actions. He said he had stopped to inspect construction work while passing through the area and had called Singh “three times” to meet him. Singh arrived around 45 minutes later, Verma said.

“When Jarnail Singh arrived, he came with his own workers ... 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,” Verma said.

What transpired? (HT_PRINT)

Verma also accused Singh of tearing up the road because he was not receiving any “commission” from PWD workers at the site, and said an engineer had lodged a complaint with police.

Jarnail Singh said that these allegations were only being made because the reality of the “bad quality road being made” had been exposed.

The man seen being slapped, identified in the complaint seen by HT as Saheb Singh, submitted a complaint to police alleging that he was “abused” and “hit for questioning the poor quality of work done and corruption within PWD”. Police have said they received the complaint and were verifying the facts.

Meanwhile, PWD engineers and the contractor filed two complaints alleging that MLA Jarnail Singh had tried to forcefully stop work on September 24 and had “illegally demanded money”. The complaints, accessed by HT, alleged that Singh and his team damaged the newly laid road and sought registration of an FIR for obstructing public work and criminal intimidation, among other offences.

Deputy commissioner of police (west) Hareshwar Swami said on Sunday evening that no FIR had been registered in connection with the incident. He could not be reached for further comment. Joint commissioner of police (western range) Suman Goyal did not respond to calls or messages.

A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, shared with HT an FIR registered at Tilak Nagar police station on June 2, saying Saheb Singh had been arrested in June for allegedly assaulting an MCD employee during a dispute over garbage and was currently out on bail. However, the FIR shared by the officer did not name Saheb Singh as an accused.

The Delhi unit of the BJP said the situation was “unfortunate”. “What happened in Vikaspuri was unfortunate and the PWD minister has himself termed it wrong. However, MLA Jarnail Singh should explain why, despite being informed in advance, he arrived 45 minutes late with a crowd. His conduct created a commotion. The circumstances raise questions about whether the confrontation was deliberately provoked,” said Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor.

The incident drew sharp reactions from the Opposition. AAP national convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded action against Verma.

“A minister in (PM Narendra) 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,” Kejriwal said on X.

Several Congress leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, also condemned the incident.

“This is the face of a power that no longer fears the voters,” Gandhi said on X. “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.”

Delhi Congress president Devendra Yadav said BJP ministers should answer questions from the public through their work, while Congress leader Alka Lamba also criticised the incident.

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