A Bharatiya Janata Party legislator was caught on camera kicking a woman, who was a supporter of the Nationalist Congress Party, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, The Times of India reported on Monday.
In the video clip, Naroda MLA Balram Thawani is seen kicking the woman who was reportedly participating in a protest against stopping water supply in Naroda in Ahmedabad, according to NDTV. Scroll.in has not independently verified the authenticity of the clip.
The woman Nitu Tejwani said she had approached Thawani on Sunday over a local matter, “but even before hearing me, he slapped me”, ANI reported. “When I fell down, he started to kick me,” she said. “His people also beat up my husband. I ask Modi ji, how are women safe under the BJP rule?”
Tejwani wanted to meet the MLA to seek two days’ time before the water supply to their area was cut. “But soon Thawani and his men resorted to force to evict us,” The Times of India quoted her as saying. “We were slapped, some even came with hockey sticks. I felt humiliated.”
The purported video clip shows Thawani, who is wearing an orange kurta, kicking the woman and a man in a white shirt slapping her.
Thawani later claimed he had kicked Tejwani by mistake, according to The Times of India. “I had not intended to do so, but I was heckled by a group and while defending myself, I kicked her by mistake.”
Thawani said he will apologise to the woman, reported ANI. “I got swayed by emotions, I accept the mistake, it was not intentional,” he said. “I have been in politics for last 22 years, such a thing has never happened before.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone 4 Neeraj Badgujar said he saw the video on a news channel, but has not yet received a formal complaint.
The Nationalist Congress Party condemned the incident and warned of a protest if Thawani is not arrested. Party spokesperson Nawab Malik said an apology would not suffice and that the law must take its course, PTI reported. “BJP leaders and their supporters have become uncontrollable after the party’s poll victory,” Malik said. “A woman has been thrashed. Is it some jungle raj?”
Dhananjay Munde, the leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, claimed that Thawani’s attitude showed the “BJP’s culture” and called for his suspension.
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