Angry at the incident in which BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya, son of BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, assaulted a civic official with a cricket bat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today (Tuesday, July 2) said such behaviour would not be tolerated and such people should be expelled from the party – “no matter whose son”.
The PM was addressing MPs at BJP’s first Parliamentary Party meeting after elections. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP Working President Jagat Prakash Nadda, other senior party leaders were also present. The meeting was earlier scheduled to take place last Tuesday, but it was cancelled due to sudden demise of BJP’s Rajasthan unit chief Madan Lal Saini. Usually when Parliament is in session, the BJP parliamentary party meeting takes place every Tuesday.
Prime Minister Modi issued several directives to the BJP MPs during the meeting. Speaking at the Parliamentary party meeting, PM Modi spoke of the incident in which Akash Vijayvargiya assaulted a civic official with a cricket bat during an argument with a team of the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) over demolition of a dilapidated building in Ganji Compound area last week.
In a video clip shown on TV channels, he was seen chasing the official with the bat and beating him in the presence of policemen, who did nothing. A video of the dramatic scenes was shared widely on social media.
The official was working as part of a team removing encroachments when he was attacked by Akash Vijayvargiya and his supporters. Akash Vijayvargiya had justified himself saying the officials had dragged and verbally abused women occupants of a residential building. His father Kailash Vijayvargiya, a veteran BJP leader, had downplayed his son’s offence, calling him “kachha khiladi” (novice) and that it wasn’t a big issue.
But PM Modi would have none of it. Though he was not reported to have taken any names, the PM said that such behaviour will not be tolerated. Sources say that he told the BJP leaders that he is not toiling so hard so that people can behave in such a fashion. “Such people should be expelled from the party,” he is said to have asserted at the meeting.
BJP MP Rajeev Pratap Rudy said that the PM in the BJP parliamentary party meeting has said that any kind of misbehaviour that brings down party’s name is unacceptable. “PM Modi today conveyed a clear message to all the party members that such behaviour is not acceptable, be it anyone. He said that action should be taken if someone has done something wrong. He also said that it is applicable to everyone,” Rudy said.
“The PM was very upset. He said nobody has any right to misbehave or take the party for a ride or show arrogance in public. He used a very strong statement and said that any such act is unacceptable,” Rudy told NDTV.
According to sources, PM Modi said the people who welcomed Akash Vijayvargiya after his release from jail on bail should also be removed, reported NDTV.
Akash Vijayvargiya, who was arrested after the attack, received a grand welcome from his family and supporters as he walked out of a prison on Sunday after he was granted bail. Kailash Vijayvargiya, too, was present outside the jail where his son was garlanded by supporters as he stepped out. Supporters even fired shots in the air to celebrate his bail.
Vijayvargiya was unapologetic. “I am not guilty or embarrassed about what I did as it was in public interest… I pray to god that I should not be given another opportunity to pick up the bat (I pray to god ki vo dobara ballebazi karne ka avsar na de),” he said after stepping out of prison.