BJP calls Tilak Nagar slapping incident wrong, says man slapped by Verma a 'habitual offender'

The Delhi BJP on Sunday expressed regret over an incident in which PWD Minister Parvesh Verma was seen slapping a man during a road inspection in west Delhi, but alleged that the man was a “habitual offender” who had previously been arrested in a case involving the assault of an MCD employee. The party also accused AAP MLA Jarnail Singh of provoking Verma by arriving at the inspection with around 50 party workers and behaving in an “indecent and uncivilised manner”.

The incident, caught on camera during an inspection of a newly constructed road in the Tilak Nagar-Vikaspuri area, triggered a political row after the AAP circulated the video and demanded action against Verma. Saheb Singh, the man seen being slapped, has denied abusing the minister and submitted a complaint to police, while Verma has said his action followed alleged abusive remarks directed at his family.

BJP expresses regret

Delhi BJP media head Praveen Shankar Kapoor acknowledged that the incident should not have happened and said Verma himself had accepted as much. At the same time, Kapoor sought to put the confrontation in the context of what he described as deliberate provocation by the local AAP MLA and his supporters.

“What happened in Vikaspuri was wrong, and the PWD minister has also admitted it. We all regret it,” Kapoor said. He questioned why Jarnail Singh allegedly arrived late for the inspection despite being informed in advance and why he came accompanied by a large group of AAP workers.

The BJP further alleged that Saheb Singh had a previous criminal case against him involving an assault on an MCD employee and had been arrested in connection with it. The party described him as a “habitual offender”, an allegation made by the BJP as it sought to counter the AAP’s attack over the slap.

Both sides trade charges

Kapoor claimed Jarnail Singh had been raising complaints about the contractor responsible for road work in the Vikaspuri area and had been seeking a meeting with Verma. According to the BJP leader, when the contractor did not meet the MLA, Singh began posting videos about the road work on social media, following which the matter came to Verma’s attention.

Kapoor said Verma subsequently decided to conduct an administrative inspection and contacted Singh while travelling towards Vikaspuri, asking him to meet at the site. He alleged that the AAP MLA arrived with around 50 party workers who began behaving inappropriately with the minister.

The AAP has offered a sharply different account. Jarnail Singh has said questions were being raised over the quality of the newly constructed road after portions of its surface could allegedly be pulled apart by hand, and accused Verma of losing his temper during the inspection.

Saheb Singh, who handles social media work for the AAP MLA, has said he was recording the inspection when Verma slapped him. He has denied using abusive language and alleged that people accompanying the minister subsequently manhandled and threatened him.

Verma cites abuse of family

Verma has said the video circulating on social media did not show the full sequence of events. He alleged that AAP workers accompanying Jarnail Singh had used abusive language against his family and said that although his reaction should not have occurred, the circumstances leading to it were being left out of the Opposition’s account.

The minister also accused the AAP MLA of pressuring PWD officials in connection with the contractor handling the road project. The AAP has rejected the allegations and maintained that the confrontation began after its representatives questioned the quality of the road work.

Police have received a complaint from Saheb Singh over the incident and are verifying the allegations. The confrontation has also prompted demands from AAP leaders for action against Verma, with former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal calling for his arrest.

Rahul targets minister

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also entered the row, criticising Verma over the video. “A BJP minister from the Delhi government is seen slapping a young man in a video. His crime? He was making a video. A road was being dug up right in front of the minister, and he had a camera in his hand,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, described the episode as reflecting a government that no longer feared voters. His remarks added a Congress attack to the political confrontation already unfolding between the BJP and AAP over the incident.

Verma responded dismissively to Gandhi’s intervention. “Rahul ji, aap rehne do bhai, aapko kuch nahi pata (Rahul ji, you just stay out of it, brother, you don’t know anything),” he said.

With the video continuing to circulate online, the dispute has now moved beyond the quality of the road that prompted the inspection. The BJP has acknowledged that Verma’s action was wrong while arguing that he was provoked, while the AAP has rejected that defence and demanded police action against the minister.