BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on July 6 expressed ignorance about the party issuing any show-cause notice to his MLA son Akash for assaulting a civic official with a cricket bat in Indore last month.
There have been contrasting statements by party leaders on the notice. While Madhya Pradesh BJP president on July 4 said that no decision was taken on the matter, a senior national leader had asserted that a notice was issued. When asked on July 6 whether any such notice has been issued to the MLA, Satyendra Bhushan Singh, office secretary of the State BJP, said, “Nothing like that, at least in my knowledge.”
The issue of imminent action against Mr. Akash Vijayvargiya came up after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 2 disapproved of his conduct and language.
BJP leaders have feigned ignorance whether any notice has been served to Mr. Akash Vijayvargiya asking him to explain his conduct.
Mr. Akash Vijayvargiya assaulted an official of the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) on June 26 during an argument over razing of a dilapidated building, which was caught on camera. He is currently out on bail.
“I don’t know about it. I (just) reached here (Bhopal) from Delhi but I read in newspapers that Akash was served something,” Mr. Kailash Vijayvargiya told reporters when asked about the show-cause notice against his son. In reply to a question whether he had reprimanded Mr. Akash Vijayvargiya over the incident, the Vijayvargiya senior said that he had done whatever he was supposed to do as a father.
“Dantna (reprimanding) and samjhana (understanding)... I don’t want to discuss it publicly,” he added.
When asked about Mr. Akash Vijayvargiya not seen in public after the Prime Minister’s statement, his father said, “Ask him. He will be here to attend the State Assembly session (on July 8).”
After his release from jail, Mr. Akash Vijayvargiya was given a hero’s welcome by some BJP supporters. Though he remained unapologetic over the act, Mr. Akash Vijayvargiya had said that he would try to follow Mahatma Gandhi’s path of non-violence while raising public issues in future.