Road inspection row: Victim demands resignation of Delhi Dy CM Verma, seeks FIR

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) A day after the alleged slapping incident involving Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, the victim on Monday demanded Parvesh Verma’s resignation, saying he is “not worthy” of holding the post and that an FIR should be registered against him.

Speaking to IANS, the victim, Sahib Singh said, “Our demand is that the Deputy Chief Minister should resign; he is not worthy of being a minister. An FIR should at least be registered against him. If I or anyone else had done such a thing, you know how severe the action would have been. If a Deputy Chief Minister can act like this, then the youths of India are not safe. If any young person or individual raises a question, their life could be put at risk.”

Singh claimed that the entire incident was captured on video and said the footage would establish what happened.

“You can check my live video stream. I was streaming live on Jarnail Singh’s Instagram page at that moment. When I picked up a piece of the broken road, pointed the camera and walked towards them, he snatched my phone. I have the full recording,” Singh said.

He added that he was willing to accept any allegations against him if there was evidence that he had used abusive or disrespectful language.

“If there is even 1 per cent evidence that I used any abusive language or showed disrespect, I am ready to accept all allegations and apologise to them. But we didn’t say anything inappropriate,” Singh said.

According to Singh, he had accompanied an AAP MLA to inspect the quality of a road after receiving a call.

“We went for an inspection around 1 or 1.15 p.m. after receiving a call from Parvesh. I accompanied our MLA to inspect the road quality. We exposed the true condition of the road — it was thinner than a carpet, cracking and breaking apart,” he alleged.

Singh further alleged that exposing the condition of the road led to the confrontation and claimed that Deputy Chief Minister Verma pushed down his phone with one hand and slapped him across the face, before moving behind his police and security personnel.

Singh said political support had also come in following the incident.

“Yes, support is coming in. Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party have extended support, and Rahul Gandhi from Congress tweeted about this issue as well. Because this is a national issue. A sitting minister cannot just assault a young person openly on the street for asking a question,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, a video of the incident shows Verma pulling down the young man’s mobile phone with his left hand while the latter was recording him during the road inspection. He then appears to slap the man with his right hand.

A scuffle follows, with a security guard stepping between the two as a small crowd gathers around them.

Defending his actions, Deputy Chief Minister Verma claimed the young man had abused his family members and that he had reacted to the alleged abuse. However, the young man has denied the allegations.

The incident took place while Verma, who also holds the Public Works Department portfolio, was inspecting a road in Tilak Nagar in west Delhi.

–IANS

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Indian economy resilient despite global uncertainty: HM Amit Shah on US tariffs

New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that external pressures would not cause panic among Indian citizens as the domestic economy remains resilient despite global uncertainties, as US reciprocal tariffs came into effect.

Speaking at the ‘Rising Bharat Summit’ in the national capital, Home Minister Amit Shah said that it is too soon to determine the impact of Trump tariffs but asserted that India’s economy is resilient to such pressures.

“It’s too soon to determine the impact. India is not the only country facing tariffs. Several countries are facing tariffs. Maybe our goods can be exported to other countries too,” the Home Minister told the gathering.

Amit Shah further stated that US tariffs are a complex issue, and it is not wise to determine their impact in haste. He also emphasised that India’s economy is resilient and assured that such external pressures would not cause panic among Indian citizens.

Earlier, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that India will work with the US to secure exemptions from President Donald Trump’s 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs.

India has reached an understanding with the US to ink a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by the fall of this year. According to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, New Delhi’s plan is to solidify a trade deal, as the effects of US reciprocal tariffs are still unknown.

“We decided that we will engage the (Donald) Trump administration early on this set of issues and we were very open with them, very constructive with them as they were with us, and what we agreed to do was to try to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement by fall of this year,” he said at the event earlier in the day.

Following bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump in Washington DC in February, the two nations announced that they would negotiate the first tranche of the BTA by the fall of 2025.

–IANS

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Rajasthan: Congress stages protest against ‘vote theft’ in Jaipur

Jaipur, Aug 13 (IANS) Rajasthan Congress, led by its President Govind Singh Dotasra, on Wednesday organised a ‘Vote Chor – Gaddi Chhod’ foot march from the party headquarters to Shaheed Smarak in Jaipur, alleging that the BJP is trying to suppress the issue of vote theft after Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi exposed “large-scale” electoral fraud in the country.

The march was attended by former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, AICC General Secretary Sachin Pilot, Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully, Congress MLAs, MLA candidates, PCC officials, and a large number of party workers and leaders.

Addressing the gathering, Dotasra said LoP Rahul Gandhi’s revelations proved that the BJP-led Central government was formed through fraudulent votes.

“The slogan ‘Vote Chor – Gaddi Chhod’ is echoing across the nation. The BJP is attacking democracy on two fronts – by gaining power through fake votes and by deleting lakhs of opposition voters from the rolls under the guise of SIR,” he alleged.

He claimed that several seats in Rajasthan were affected by vote theft and accused the Election Commission of refusing to provide the Congress with the digital voter list despite repeated requests.

“Our leaders are determined to expose this fraud in Rajasthan. It will soon be clear that LoP Rahul Gandhi’s allegations are entirely correct,” Dotasra said.

Announcing a massive public movement against vote theft, Dotasra informed that on August 14 at 8 PM, District Congress Committees will hold a ‘Vote Chor – Gaddi Chhod’ candle march at all district headquarters, followed by public awareness campaigns.

He accused BJP leaders of acting like dictators, violating the Constitution, and using “Saam-Daam-Dand-Bhed” to keep the opposition from power.

“We will take this campaign to every village and hamlet of the state,” he declared.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said he joined the march because the entire country is waking up against the alleged #VoteChori by the Election Commission in favour of the BJP.

Speaking to the media, Sachin Pilot said that instead of the ECI answering the charges, the BJP is defending them.

“They are demanding an affidavit from LoP Rahul Gandhi. The government should stay away from this. The ECI has a moral and constitutional duty to ensure every vote is genuine. We have only asked for an investigation, but they are refusing,” he said.

Pilot alleged that in some constituencies, thousands of votes had been altered, fake names and addresses added, and genuine voters deleted.

He also questioned why a member was removed from the process, why voter lists were withheld, and why CCTV footage was being destroyed, calling it an attempt to erase evidence.

“When Rahul Gandhi exposed the theft, the ECI remained silent while the BJP defended it. What right does the BJP have? The ECI is the soul of democracy and must protect it. Instead, notices are issued, affidavits demanded, MPs detained, and leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge arrested,” Pilot said.

He reiterated that Congress has presented irregularities with evidence.

“Silence from the ECI means there is something to hide. This campaign is not a one-day protest but a long struggle. Tomorrow, there will be candle marches and nationwide protests. This is about protecting India’s democracy. Wins and losses happen in elections, but deleting lakhs of genuine votes and compromising the ECI’s independence is a grave threat to the nation,” he concluded.

–IANS

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North Bengal landslides: Death toll rises to 39, resecures reach remote areas

Kolkata, Oct 9 (IANS) With the recovery of more bodies in the last 24 hours, the death toll in the hills, Terai and Dooars regions in North Bengal, devastated by heavy rainfall and landslides, reached 39 on Thursday, as per the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the district administrations in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri.

Administrative officials apprehend that the death toll might rise further in the next couple of days as rescue operations continue in the remote areas.

A district administration official pointed out that the official death figure was 36 as of Tuesday morning, and during that day, there was no recovery of more bodies. “However, during the last 24 hours, three more bodies were found, thus taking the death figure to 39. Two of the three bodies recovered during the last 24 hours were carried by the flowing water of the Jaldhaka River,” the district administrative official said.

The bodies recovered during the last 24 hours are yet to be identified.

With the weather conditions in the region now stable, the pace of relief, rescue, and restoration operations has picked up during the last 24 hours. Several damaged roads have been repaired, and even some of the popular trekking routes in the hills of the region, including the most popular Sandakphu route, have been reopened for the trekkers.

Insiders from the district administration said that the main challenge now is the complete restoration of the electricity supply in the hills, the work for which is going on at a war footing.

“Although electricity connections have been restored in certain pockets in the hills, the work has not been completed for a larger area. The officials of the state power department are working on a war footing to complete the full restoration process at the earliest,” said the district administration officials.

Meanwhile, a political slugfest has erupted with the opposition accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of refraining from going to the most badly affected areas in the hills during her two-day visit to North Bengal on Monday and Tuesday. The opposition parties have accused the Chief Minister of restricting her movement in the comparatively normal places in the plans. However, there was no counter-reaction from Trinamool Congress on the allegations.

–IANS

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