Video: Delhi minister Parvesh Verma slaps man filming him during road inspection

Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Verma slapped a young man who was recording a road inspection in west Delhi's Tilak Nagar on Sunday, with the entire incident caught on camera. The confrontation took place after Verma and AAP MLA Jarnail Singh sparred over the quality of road construction in the area.

The video shows Verma pulling down the man's mobile phone with his left hand before slapping him across the face with his right hand. The man then appears to confront the minister, but a security guard steps between the two as people gather around them.

The man, identified as Sahib Singh, is an aide of Jarnail Singh and was recording the exchange between the minister and the AAP MLA.ROAD INSPECTION TURNS INTO HEATED EXCHANGE

The incident unfolded during Verma's inspection of a road in the Tilak Nagar Assembly constituency. The minister and Jarnail Singh were seen arguing over the quality of the road and trading accusations over its construction.

At one point, Jarnail Singh pulled at the newly paved road with his hand, lifting large chunks of the surface with apparent ease, according to an NDTV report.

"Ye lo, mantri ji aap humse poocho, bura manne ki baat nahi hai isme. Ye BJP ki Sarkar mein ho raha hai kaam. Hamari video delete karwa rahe ho (Here, Minister, you can ask us. There is nothing to feel bad about. This work is being carried out under the BJP government. You are getting our videos deleted)," the AAP MLA said, holding up pieces of the road.

He then challenged Verma, saying, "Aapne jo sadak boli woh ukhad ke dikha di, ab batao (You challenged me to tear up the road, and I have shown you by uprooting it. Now tell me)."

Verma, who had his arm around the AAP MLA at the time, told him, "Galat nahi bolna (Don't say anything wrong)."

When Singh asked what he had said wrong, the minister replied, "Bilkul galat bola. Aapne 15 saal mein sadak nahi banayi, ab hum bana rahe hain (That is completely wrong. You did not build the road in 15 years; now we are building it)."

Singh hit back, saying, "Aise mat banao na, ye toh 15 ghante nahi chalegi (Don't build it like this. It won't even last 15 hours)."

At this point, Verma turned around and started walking away. As Singh followed him holding the chunks of road, Sahib Singh, his personal assistant, continued recording the exchange. Verma then turned towards Singh and slapped him while he was filming.MINISTER SLAPS MAN FILMING EXCHANGE

Verma then began walking away from the spot. Singh followed him while holding chunks of the road, as Sahib Singh continued recording the exchange on his mobile phone.

The video shows Verma turning towards Singh's aide, pulling down his phone and slapping him. A voice can be heard saying, "Oye maar kaise raha hai (How dare you hit me)?"

Another person says, "Are maar diya thappad, bhai. Bhai, thappad mar diya ji. Ye lo ji, video banate hue thappad mar diya."

Another voice from the crowd says, "Aam aadmi ko koi thappad nahi maar sakta."

The video then shows the young man getting into a brief physical confrontation with the minister before a security guard intervenes and separates them.VICTIM FILES POLICE COMPLAINT

Speaking to news agency ANI, Sahib Singh said he was live-streaming the conversation between Jarnail Singh and Verma when the minister intervened.

"At that time, I was live-streaming on the MLA's page. To stop the ongoing live stream, Parvesh Verma snatched the phone from my hand, raised his hand at me and slapped me," Singh said.

He alleged that security personnel accompanying the minister also pushed him and threatened him. Singh said he had filed a complaint with the police and provided the names of those involved.

"The rest depends on what action the police take, because he is a serving minister. Action should be taken against him," he said.advertisementAAP DEMANDS ACTION AGAINST VERMAAAP MLA Jarnail Singh shared the video of the incident on X and accused Verma of losing his temper during the road inspection.

AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also shared the video and called for the minister's arrest.

"A minister in Modi ji's government publicly slapped a young man for highlighting corruption in road construction... Arrest this minister. I will visit Tilak Nagar tomorrow to inspect this road," Kejriwal said.

Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj also accused Verma of slapping the cameraman and called the incident shameful.- EndsWith agency inputs