Gujarat BJP MLA slaps NCP woman leader, apologises

Ahmedabad: A BJP legislator in Gujarat was caught on camera kicking and punching a local NCP woman leader, who approached him for resuming water supply to her locality in Ahmedabad district.

The uproar over the incident was dramatically resolved on Monday when the victim tied him a rakhi. Both parties have claimed to resolve the issue.

A video of the incident went viral on social media on Sunday late evening showing the BJP’s Naroda constituency legislator, Balram Thavani, beating a woman who had come to him to complain about the poor supply of drinking water.

Ms Nitu Tejwani, who was beaten up by the MLA and his supporters, is a worker of the Nationalist Congress Party in the Naroda area.

After the video of the incident was widely shared, Ms Tejwani initially refused to lodge a complaint with the local police allegedly due to political pressure. Mr Thavani was reluctant to accept his mistake and apologise to Ms Tejwani.

As pressure from women activists and political circles began to mount on Monday, the local police was forced to file a complaint. The Women’s Commission also initiated a inquiry and sent a notice to the police commissioner.

While the BJP was on the defensive, Congress and NCP leaders condemned the incident and demanded the suspension of Mr Thavani.

State BJP president Jitu Vaghani remained silent on the issue but is learnt to have sent a message to Mr Thavani to apologise to Ms Tejwani. State BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya confirmed that the party had sought an explanation from Mr Thavani. The party has also condemned the incident.

Mr Thavani then went to Ms Tejwani’s home and both parties reportedly struck a compromise. As a mark of this, Ms Tejwani tied a rakhi to Mr Thavani. Questions were raised regarding the quick compromise and reports spread that she might have buckled under political pressure. Ms Tejwani, however, denied that she had faced any pressure.

Speaking after the compromise, Mr Thavani said: “She is like my sister. Whatever happened was due to some misunderstanding and out of temporary anger. I have apologised for that and the issue has been resolved.”