An event to give blankets to the poor near Lucknow ended in clashes between supporters of 2 BJP leaders
An event to distribute blankets to the poor in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday afternoon turned into an ugly brawl between supporters of two BJP leaders, the local MP and MLA, reportedly over who should get photographed distributing the blanket first.
The scuffle, captured on a mobile phone, took place 100 km from Lucknow in the presence of district officials including the police. At one point, Lok Sabha member Rekha Verma is seen slapping a man dressed in khaki. At another, the lawmaker is seen aggressively taking off her slipper and trying to slap her adversaries standing on the other side of the table with it. The blow, however, did not land.
Sources said the incident took place at a function to distribute blankets to help the poor and homeless to protect themselves against the cold wave that has killed dozens in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's state.
The Sitapur district magistrate and police chief who later reached the spot to pacify both sides were also not available for comments. A police officer said they had not received any formal complaint from either sides. It was not possible to reach the two BJP lawmakers for their comments.
The trouble started soon around the time Lok Sabha member Rekha Verma is seen angrily reprimanding a person at the event, said to be a supporter of Maholi legislator Shashank Trivedi. "You should learn to stay in your limits," Ms Verma is heard shouting. She hadn't finished yet when a voice from another corner of the room is heard: "He is Madam's son".
That warning clearly doesn't help the lawmaker's son from getting manhandled. The MP rushes to his rescue and helps her son out. A slap soon lands on the face of the policeman.
In another clip from the same incident, the furious MP - this time her son by her side - and the legislator are seen having a loud argument with Mr Trivedi's supporters standing across a table. When she charges at one of them, the party workers on the other side push over the table. The chaos continues for a bit longer till more policemen rush to the function to control the angry party workers from both sides.
Ms Verma is a first-time lawmaker. In 2014, she was given the BJP ticket from Dhaurahra constituency after the death of her husband. She had defeated former minister Jitin Prasada of the Congress.