A political row has been triggered in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Madhya Pradesh after an office bearer of the party’s youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), was filmed assaulting an elderly tribal man with slippers in Madhya Pradesh’s Anuppur.
The video of the incident – which occurred on September 18 – has gone viral, bringing with it a fresh perception challenge for the BJP that is still reeling from the criticism it faced in the aftermath of the Sidhi urination episode from July.
The Opposition Congress is on attack mode ever since the clip surfaced. It has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan even as it coined a new term for the BJP, “Aadiwasi Atyachar Party (Tribal Atrocity Party)”.
According to the police, the assault happened after a fatal accident. On September 18 after Bhoma Singh Marawi (60), who was riding pillion with Barnu Singh Marawi (57) on a motorcycle, was killed in an accident involving the motorcycle and a pick-up truck near Jamudi village. Soon, a crowd gathered on the spot and started questioning Barnu Singh about the accident.
The video captures two men – later identified as Jaiganesh Dixit, the zonal BJYM president of Anuppur (Rural),and Jitendra Kushwaha – taking turns to assault Mr. Barnu Singh Marawi, even as Mr. Bhoma Singh Marawi’s body lies next to the victim. A senior police officer said on Wednesday that both men were booked under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Former Chief Minister and State Congress President Kamal Nath listed out several incidents of alleged atrocities on tribals reported in Madhya Pradesh, pointing out that on each occasion the perpetrator was “either a leader of BJP or someone associated with it”. On his social media post on X (formerly Twitter), he further demanded the resignation of CM Chouhan.
“Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji, you cannot ignore this gruesome video. Next to the dead body of a tribal man in Anuppur district, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader is seen beating another tribal man with slippers. Bharatiya Janata Party is becoming a party of tribal atrocities in Madhya Pradesh,” a part of his post read.
“After all, what do you want? When you cannot stop atrocities on tribals then at least resign from the post of Chief Minister. The hypocrisy of washing feet cannot atone for your cruel power,” he further wrote, highlighting how Mr. Chouhan had washed the feet of the urination incident victim. Back then too, it was alleged that the accused was an aide of a sitting BJP MLA from Sidhi.
Madhya Pradesh Congress general secretary in-charge Randeep Surjewala also held a press conference on the issue during which he said that given the rising number of incidents of atrocities, Mr. Chouhan should quit.
Meanwhile, after the incident went viral, the BJYM removed Dixit from his post, calling the act one that fell into the category of gross indiscipline.
