Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan apologised to the tribal victim of the Sidhi urination incident and washed his feet on Thursday.
After a video, in which a man can be seen urinating on a tribal labourer, emerged and triggered widespread outrage, police arrested the accused Pravesh Shukla. He was said to be an aide of BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla, who has since denied it.
On Thursday, the Chief Minister invited the victim to his official residence in Bhopal, washed his feet and touched his own forehead with the water. After apologising to Mr. Rawat, the CM referred to him as Sudama, Lord Krishna’s poor friend in Hindu scriptures.
The CM then took to Twitter, and posted a video of the meeting, along with the message that “everyone should understand that till Shivraj Singh Chouhan is in Madhya Pradesh, people are Gods. Atrocities on anyone will not be tolerated. The dignity of every citizen of the State is my own dignity”.
Mr. Chouhan also spoke to the victim’s wife over phone, assuring a house and other monetary help. In a video of the alleged conversation that has gone viral, the woman is heard telling the CM to send her husband back and that she has “no greed for money”.
The Congress which has adopted an aggressive stance on the issue since it came to light two days ago has dubbed the CM’s gesture “theatrics”. Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath said that such drama and theatrics would not deceive the tribals. “Those who have a clean heart don’t do such actions before camera,” Mr. Nath said. Former CM Digvijaya Singh said this drama will satisfy a few people but the “blot on the dignity of tribals will not be washed away.” The Sidhi incident was not a one off and there are several instances of BJP leaders and their supporters inflicting atrocities on tribals in the State, he added.
Earlier, Congress and BJP leaders, including MLA Shukla - who has denied any association with the accused Pravesh Shukla - also visited the residence of the victim. Mr. Shukla and other BJP leaders, however, faced resistance.
Political commentator Rakesh Dikshit said that the incident has brought to light the questions of safety and security of the tribals and the CM’s feet-washing gesture would only have limited impact.
“Tribals are angry with the BJP over a lot of issues, including the inadequate implementation of PESA Act and the recent discussions on Uniform Civil Code which they see as a threat to their existence. The emergence of the video in such a situation is a fresh headache for the BJP. Tribals constitute 21% of M.P.’s population and in 2018, the Congress won 31 of the 47 tribal seats. Tokenism cannot replace denial of security and lack of representation,” said Mr. Dikshit.
