MP: Ex-minister makes son clean roadside garbage for threatening Covid-19 duty cops

P Naveen | TNN | May 1, 2020, 13:38 IST

BHOPAL: BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia’s loyalist and former minister Pradhmun Singh Tomar on Friday made his son remove garbage from roadside along with municipality workers for an hour as ‘punishment’ and expression of regret for his ‘misconduct’ with policemen deployed in Covid-19 combat at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
Pradhuman’s son Ripudaman had landed into heated arguments with the on-duty policemen after they stopped and questioned him for moving around without a mask. In the video of the melee which went viral on social media on Thursday, angry Ripudaman can be heard intimidating the constable who sought to fine him and made a video as he started arguing with him. He called someone of the phone and said, “Call this constable to the bungalow and tell who I am”.
Later in the evening Pradyuman Singh took his son to the same spot place paid a fine of Rs 100 besides apologising to the policemen for his son’s behaviour.
“My son was returning from a veterinary clinic with his puppy. As he was riding a two-wheeler he was not able to set the mask. Only half of the video of the incident was released on social media with a political intention by person who made it. In any case, he shouldn’t have misbehaved. I took my him to the same spot and made him apologise publicly for what he did. We all should respect police who had been working day and night for our safety risking own lives staying away from their family at this crisis situation,” Tomar told TOI. His son has returned from US during the on-going lock-down.
Ripudaman also released his video tendering apologies. "I apologise to those who have suffered because of me. I will never repeat this and would work with patience and understanding, will follow the law in future".
While Congress workers believe Pradhuman is trying to use this opportunity for gaining political mileage, Pradumna claims it otherwise. “I have no intention to use this incident for political gain. What my son did was wrong so I did what I felt was right.” He said.
Pradumna Singh was among the supporters of former union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia who deserted the Congress and joined the BJP.
As a food and civil supplies minister in Kamal Nath regime, Pradhuman Singh Tomar had cleaned a drain as part of a cleaning campaign, which he calls ‘vastavik safai abhiyan’ (actual cleaning campaign)’. Tomar’s video, showing him knee-deep in drain to clear the sludge, had gone viral.