BJP panel head spoke at dharna to support Vijayvargiya son

Babusingh Raghuvanshi, convenor of Madhya Pradesh BJP disciplinary committee who has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not have had Indore-3 MLA Akash Vijayvargiya in mind when he criticised “arrogance and misbehaviour’’ of party leaders, had participated in a dharna in Akash’s support soon after he assaulted a civic official with a cricket bat.

READ | PM Modi’s rebuke may not have been aimed at son of Vijayvargiya: BJP panel head

Akash, son of BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, had assaulted an official of Indore Municipal Corporation while opposing the demolition of a building that had been declared unsafe. The act was caught on camera and a video clip of the incident went viral. The legislator, who refused to apologise, was subsequently arrested and later released on bail. Days after the incident, Prime Minister Modi said that arrogance and misbehaviour will not be tolerated irrespective of “whoever it may be, whoever’s son he may be”. He had also hinted that action should be taken against the leaders who welcomed Akash after he was released on bail. The statement was seen as condemnation of the assault by Akash.

Raghuvanshi, the former chairman of Madhya Pradesh Laghu Udyog Nigam, was one of the speakers at the dharna and there he said the 33-year-old MLA was provoked by the civic officials to take the law in his own hands.

When The Indian Express approached him about his participation in the dharna, the BJP leader claimed that the dharna had been planned in advance against “Congressikaran’’ of the municipal corporation, the local administration and the police machinery after the change of guard in the state last year. He said some leaders spoke about rhe Akash episode because it had taken just two days before the dharna.

An Indore-based BJP leader, however, contradicted Raghuvanshi, saying the dharna was planned only in support of Akash.