A video allegedly showing Delhi minister Parvesh Verma slapping a young man during a road inspection in the Tilak Nagar assembly constituency has gone viral on social media, with the opposition AAP targeting the ruling BJP and calling for the minister’s arrest.
The man who was allegedly slapped later sought disciplinary action against the minister and claimed that an FIR had been registered in connection with the incident. AAP leaders said a complaint had been submitted, but the police had not yet registered an FIR.
AAP, CJP target BJP, Verma over ‘slap’ incident
Former Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal called for Verma’s arrest and said he would visit the area on Monday to inspect the road. “Arrest the minister. I will go here tomorrow,” he posted on X.
In another post on X, he said, “A minister of Modi ji slapped a young man publicly for exposing corruption in road construction. I will go to Tilak Nagar tomorrow and inspect this road.”
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said on X, “The Modi Govt wants to 'reach out' to Gen Z. Well, here’s what that outreach looks like on the ground, Delhi Cabinet Minister Parvesh Verma slapping a Gen Z for asking questions.”
{{/usCountry}}The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said on X, “The Modi Govt wants to 'reach out' to Gen Z. Well, here’s what that outreach looks like on the ground, Delhi Cabinet Minister Parvesh Verma slapping a Gen Z for asking questions.”
{{/usCountry}}AAP MLA from Tilak Nagar, Jarnail Singh, alleged that Verma lost his temper and slapped the man while he was raising concerns about the road construction in the area. Singh said Verma had visited the site to inspect the road and claimed that the minister reacted after questions were raised over the work.
Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bhardwaj described the incident as a “disgraced and cowardly move” and termed the alleged act “shameful”.
“The minister, in a fit of rage, slapped a cameraman. By raising your hand on a child under police protection, you have exposed your own vulgarity,” he wrote on X.
In another post, he said, “Boy was making a video of him getting exposed for sub-standard roads by the Delhi govt. Take away the police security guards, and let's see how tough you really are.”
FIR registered, claims ‘victim’
The young man who was recording the incident said he handles the social media activities for the AAP MLA from Tilak Nagar. He told news agency ANI that an FIR had been registered and also alleged that Verma’s “associates threatened to kill” him after the incident.
“I showed him how the road surface was breaking apart. When this was pointed out, the minister couldn't handle it; he raised his hand against me, and his associates threatened to kill me... The police were present right there, and all of this happened in their presence,” he said.
He demanded an apology from the minister and called for action against him. “He must apologise, and whatever disciplinary action is required, such as suspension, should be taken. We aren't just making claims; there is video evidence of everything. We have lodged an FIR and will pursue further action.”
Parvesh Verma’s response
Amid outrage over the incident, the minister shared a video statement on his X account with the caption, “Listen to the full truth behind today's incident… but what happened should not have happened.”
He said road construction work had been going on over the Vikas Puri Ring Road for the past several days and that the MLA from that area, AAP’s Jarnail Singh, had been asking PWD department engineers for quite some time to arrange a meeting with the contractor and get him a commission. “Our engineer has gone to the police station and filed a complaint against him, and an FIR is being registered against him,” he said.
Verma said, “When I stopped there and inspected the work, I saw that the work was being carried out very well… Perhaps the Aam Aadmi Party is very unhappy about this, because all the roads in Delhi are being constructed - roads that had not been built for 15 years.”
He said he called the AAP MLA to the site where construction was underway. “When Jarnail Singh arrived, he immediately started misbehaving there. One of his workers started abusing my family. When someone says something to my family, any person in that situation would react in anger, and I did the same,” Verma said.
“If anyone obstructs government work, damages government property, or asks our officials for a commission, and if an Aam Aadmi Party MLA does this, we will not tolerate it,” he added.