A routine road check in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar turned ugly on Sunday afternoon when Public Works Department Minister Parvesh Verma was seen on video pulling down a young man’s phone and slapping him across the face. The clip, shared widely by Aam Aadmi Party leaders, has set off a fresh political storm between the BJP and AAP.
The incident happened while Verma was inspecting a newly laid stretch of road in the Vikas Puri-Tilak Nagar area. Local AAP MLA Jarnail Singh and a few of his supporters were already at the spot. Singh pulled up chunks of the road surface with his hands to show that the material was coming off easily. He claimed the work was substandard.
Standing nearby was 22-year-old Saheb Singh (also referred to as Sahib or Saheb in different accounts), a young man who handles social media for Jarnail Singh. He was recording the exchange, at one point streaming it live on the MLA’s Instagram page. According to Saheb, he had come because the PWD side had asked them to look at the road.
In the video that has gone viral, Verma can be seen reaching out with his left hand to push the phone down. His right hand then appears to strike the young man across the face. A voice in the background is heard saying something like “Oye maar kaise raha hai” – roughly, “Hey, how are you hitting him?” Security personnel quickly step in and separate the two as a small crowd gathers.
Saheb later told reporters he never abused anyone. “I was streaming the minister’s inspection on the directions of MLA Jarnail Singh. I never abused anyone, including the Minister. You can clearly hear the entire conversation in the video,” he said. He added that after the slap, the minister’s security staff held him, grabbed him by the neck and pulled him away. He also claimed three or four BJP workers with the minister misbehaved and threatened to kill him. Saheb has lodged a complaint at Vikaspuri police station. Police say they have received it and are verifying the facts.
Jarnail Singh backed his colleague’s version. He said he had peeled the road “like a carpet” in front of the minister to show the poor quality. Seeing that, he claimed, Verma lost his temper, slapped the person recording, and then left the spot.
Arvind Kejriwal shared the video and demanded Verma’s arrest. He called it an attack on a young man for exposing alleged corruption in road work and said he would visit Tilak Nagar the next day to inspect the stretch himself. Other AAP leaders described the minister’s behaviour as shameful and said a person who resorts to such action does not belong in government.
Verma has given a completely different account. In a video response he posted, he said the clip being circulated by AAP does not show the full picture. According to him, road work on the Vikaspuri Ring Road had been going on for several days. Local residents told him the road had not been properly done for about 15 years and the current work was progressing well.
He claimed Jarnail Singh had been pressuring PWD engineers for some time to introduce him to the contractor and arrange a commission. Verma said he decided to inspect the site himself while passing through. He called the MLA three times and waited around 45 minutes. When Jarnail arrived with his supporters, the minister alleged they started misbehaving. One of the workers, Verma said, hurled abuses at his family. “In that moment of anger, anyone would react the same way I did,” he stated.
Verma also said one of his engineers has lodged a complaint at the police station regarding the dispute over the road work.
The two sides are now trading charges. AAP paints it as a minister losing control when poor-quality work was exposed on camera. The BJP side, through Verma, frames it as a reaction to personal abuse after an MLA allegedly tried to extract a cut from the contractor.
Saheb, who lives with his parents in west Delhi and is pursuing graduation, has been associated with Jarnail Singh’s social media team for about four years. He insists the video evidence is clear and that action must be taken. Police at Vikaspuri station are looking into the complaint he filed.
The episode has once again brought road quality and the behaviour of public representatives into the spotlight in Delhi. Whether the slap was a momentary loss of temper or something more calculated, the video has made sure the matter will not fade quietly. Both the complaint and the counter-claims are now with the police. Further statements from both sides and any formal action will decide the next chapter.
Sources:
- Times of India reports on the incident, Saheb’s statement and Verma’s response
- The Indian Express interview with Sahib Singh
- India Today, Business Standard, The Hindu and Economic Times coverage of the viral video, political reactions and police complaint
- Statements shared by AAP leaders including Arvind Kejriwal and Jarnail Singh, and Parvesh Verma’s own video clarification
@Rohit Manral
