NEW DELHI | BJP-led Delhi Government’s Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Verma resorted to assault in Tilak Nagar on Sunday after local Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Jarnail Singh exposed the poor quality of a newly constructed road right in front of him. As Jarnail Singh pulled up the road with his bare hands to demonstrate its condition, the BJP minister lost his temper and slapped a young man who was recording the incident on camera. The incident, which unfolded publicly and was captured on video, saw Parvesh Verma leave the spot amid police security, while AAP workers raised slogans against the BJP.
AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal stated, “A minister of Modi Ji publicly slapped a young man for exposing corruption in road construction. I will visit Tilak Nagar on Monday to inspect this road.”
Arvind Kejriwal wrote on X, “The BJP’s Rekha Gupta Government constructed this road in Tilak Nagar. The quality of the road was so poor that it was coming off with bare hands. When local residents showed the road to PWD Minister Parvesh Verma, the minister lost his temper and pulled and slapped a young person who was standing there and recording the incident. Modi Ji has made such people ministers who do not even consider ordinary citizens to be human beings. I will visit Tilak Nagar on Monday to inspect this road.”
Meanwhile, AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Parvesh Verma is a coward and a scared man, and today the entire world has seen this. A poor-quality road was being constructed in Delhi by Parvesh Verma’s PWD department, and AAP MLA from Tilak Nagar Jarnail Singh exposed the entire reality of Parvesh Verma’s department. Enraged, Parvesh Verma himself came to the spot and challenged MLA Jarnail Singh to show where the road was coming apart by breaking it. When Jarnail Singh uprooted the bitumen road with his own hands and showed it, Parvesh Verma could not tolerate it and became furious.”
He added, “A young man who was peacefully recording Parvesh Verma and was not even saying anything to him was slapped by Parvesh Verma. When Parvesh Verma could not answer MLA Jarnail Singh’s questions, he became agitated and lost his temper completely. Parvesh Verma should be ashamed of himself. He is an extremely despicable man who hid behind the police and security personnel and fled.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj asserted, “If Parvesh Verma was such a great ‘pahalwan’ (fighter), he should have stayed and fought. If Parvesh Verma is so fond of acting strong, let him face that young man without security guards, so that we can see who is really the bigger wrestler. What Parvesh Verma did today was utterly disgraceful, and the entire world has now seen his true character. Parvesh Verma should be ashamed of himself. Today’s incident has shown the entire world that Parvesh Verma is a coward and an incompetent minister. The Aam Aadmi Party will certainly respond to this conduct through democratic means.”
The senior AAP leader wrote on X, “This is shameful behaviour by Parvesh Verma. Parvesh Verma slapped a cameraman. In front of Minister Parvesh Verma, AAP MLA Jarnail Singh exposed the reality of the newly constructed poor-quality road. The minister, in a fit of rage, slapped the person holding the camera. You showed your true colours by raising your hand against a young man while hiding behind police security.”
Sharing a video on social media showing Minister Parvesh Verma slapping the young man, Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, “Minister Parvesh Verma is a coward, and hitting a young man is extremely shameful. Hiding behind police security, attacking a young man who was recording him and then sitting in his car and fleeing shows his cowardice. That young man was recording a video exposing the poor-quality roads built by the Delhi Government. Remove your police security and guards and then let us see how brave you really are. Face this young man without police and security and prove your courage.”
On the other hand, senior AAP leader and Delhi Assembly LoP Atishi stated, “Parvesh Verma should be ashamed of himself. First, he committed corruption and now he is brazenly trying to intimidate people. After scooping public money and constructing a poor-quality road, when someone questioned it, he publicly slapped him. This is the height of shamelessness. The Delhi Police must immediately arrest Parvesh Verma.”
Meanwhile, Tilak Nagar MLA Jarnail Singh stated, “After being caught in his corruption, BJP minister Parvesh Verma became agitated and, like a ‘gunda’ and a thief, slapped the person who was recording his corruption on camera and fled the spot. All of this happened on camera today. Minister Parvesh Verma had called me and asked me to come because he was coming to inspect the road in my area.”
He further shared from the spot, “I thought Parvesh Verma would inspect the quality of the road and take action against PWD officials, but Parvesh Verma asked me to show him where the road was coming apart. I then uprooted the entire road like a carpet and showed it to him. Instead of taking action against the officials, Parvesh Verma slapped our colleague who was recording the video and fled the spot.”
Jarnail Singh stated, “We called the police on 112. What is shocking is that when this incident took place, the SHO of Vikaspuri police station was present at the spot, but instead of apprehending Parvesh Verma, he helped him escape. We will not leave this place until Minister Parvesh Verma is arrested and an FIR is registered against him.”
Jarnail Singh demanded that the Delhi Police Commissioner “come out of political pressure and take the same action against Minister Parvesh Verma that would be taken against any other person accused of a crime. I also want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi: this is the conduct of a BJP minister in Delhi, the capital of the world’s largest democracy. Now Prime Minister Modi must tell us what action he will take against Parvesh Verma.”
AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar said, “Should I call Parvesh Verma a BJP minister or a BJP ‘Gunda?’ This is the same Parvesh Verma who misbehaved with me inside the Assembly. Today, in front of Parvesh Verma, our MLA Jarnail Singh exposed the reality of how a PWD road could not even last 15 minutes and how it was coming off with bare hands. This enraged Parvesh Verma, who slapped a young man recording the video and exposing this corruption.”
Kuldeep Kumar demanded on behalf of the Aam Aadmi Party, “The Delhi Police should immediately arrest such a ‘gunda’ who engages in ‘gundagardi’ both inside and outside the Assembly. Such a person is a minister in Delhi. Just imagine how he must be treating ordinary citizens of Delhi if he is slapping someone merely for making a video. It is not just Parvesh Verma; all BJP MLAs, ministers and MPs are engaging in ‘gundagardi’ across Delhi today, and they have ruined Delhi. Jarnail Singh exposed their massive corruption at the spot itself. The BJP should suspend such a minister and send him to jail immediately.”
AAP National Media In-charge Anurag Dhanda stated, “Minister Parvesh Verma is assaulting people on the street like a local ‘gunda’. BJP ministers are increasingly rattled as their scams continue to be exposed. When AAP MLA Jarnail Singh exposed a multi-crore scam in road construction, the ‘gunda’ within Parvesh Verma came out.”
MCD House LoP Ankush Narang said, “BJP-led Delhi Government’s PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh slapped a young man who was operating a camera when he was asked questions. Has merely questioning the BJP government now become a crime in Delhi? When people question Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, the police beat them up, and when they questioned her minister, the minister himself slapped a young man.”
He emphasised, “In a democracy, questions are not answered with slaps, but through dialogue and accountability. The BJP Government should immediately take cognisance of its minister’s conduct and expel him from the party. The minister should also be arrested.”
Parvesh Verma should apologise in writing and police should take legal action: Victim
The victim stated, “I work with MLA Jarnail Singh and handle his social media work. We came here because PWD Minister Parvesh Verma had called the MLA. We came to show the minister the condition of the road. When the MLA showed him how the road was coming off with bare hands, he could not tolerate it and raised his hand against me. There were three or four other people with him who threatened to kill me and also assaulted me. The police were present here, and all of this happened in front of the police.”
The victim added, “My demand is that the minister apologise in writing and that whatever legal action is warranted against him should be taken. He should be suspended. If the BJP stands with the truth, it should take action in this matter. We are not making anything up. Videos of the incident are live, and everything is clearly visible in the videos, so action should be taken. We only want appropriate action. We have already filed an FIR, and further action should now be taken.”
