Slap row: Congress, AAP attack Parvesh Verma; minister hits back with ‘warning’

Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Verma has hit back at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress over the controversy surrounding the alleged slapping of a man during a road inspection in Tilak Nagar, warning AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal against attempts to obstruct the Delhi government’s work.

Verma hits back

Verma’s remarks came shortly after Kejriwal criticised the BJP minister over the incident, saying the country’s Gen-Z expects honesty and accountability from the government.

“This Gen-Z drama of yours will not work,” Verma said in a video message, directly responding to Kejriwal. “If you or your goons, your MLAs in future try to obstruct Delhi government’s works or threaten our officers, contractors then I will not tolerate this. I warn you, you remember me right?”

Verma also rejected Kejriwal’s portrayal of the man as a young member of the public, claiming he had an FIR against him for allegedly assaulting an MCD official three months ago and had been arrested.

“That person is not any Gen-Z. He is a goon who has an FIR registered against him for assaulting an MCD official three months ago. He was arrested also,” Verma said.

Kejriwal attacks BJP

Kejriwal, in his video message, had questioned how the BJP expected young people to connect with the party when a man recording a road inspection was allegedly slapped.

“This country's Gen Z expects honesty from you. It expects straightforwardness,” the former Delhi chief minister said.

Also read: Rahul attacks Parvesh Verma over slap video: ‘power no longer fears voters’

He also demanded action if there was any corruption in the road work and said the government should focus on transparency and accountability rather than social media outreach.

Kharge joins attack

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also attacked the BJP over the incident, saying the “arrogance of power” had reached a point where “oppression and humiliation of the people become a habit”.

Kharge accused the BJP and RSS of directly targeting people with violence and linked the incident to other episodes of alleged police action against protesters.

“ED-CBI on the Opposition, Slaps, Batons, and Bullets on the People!” Kharge said in a post on X, also referring to the lathi charge during a recent student protest at Jantar Mantar.

AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj also criticised those defending Verma and questioned whether a person’s past record could be used to justify violence against them.

Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also attacked the BJP over the incident, saying the alleged slapping reflected a larger problem of a government that “no longer fears the voters”.

Also read: ‘Slap cops if they mess with you,’ BJP MLA tells Hindu Jan Aakrosh crowd; cites 'boss' Fadnavis

“A BJP minister from the Delhi government is seen slapping a young man in a video. His crime? He was making a video,” Rahul said in a post on X.

What happened?

The controversy began after a video from Verma’s road inspection in Tilak Nagar showed the minister allegedly slapping a man who was recording an exchange between him and AAP MLA Jarnail Singh.

Singh had questioned the quality of a newly laid road and pulled out portions of its surface by hand. The man, identified as Saheb Singh, said Verma snatched his phone before slapping him. He also alleged that the minister’s security personnel grabbed and pushed him.