A 57-year-old tribal man, involved in a road accident and allegedly beaten up with slippers by a BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh's Anuppur district yesterday has triggered a political row in the state.
The opposition Congress came down heavily on the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led state government for failing to prevent atrocities against tribal people, after a video of the BJP leader assaulting the tribal man went viral.
According to the police, Bhoma Singh Maravi, 60, died in a motorcycle accident in the district. Shortly after, a crowd gathered around the dead and started questioning Barnu Singh Maravi, the victim's companion who was riding the motorcycle, and was sitting right next to the dead body.
Barnu was reportedly in shock and could not say anything, which angered two men, Jaiganesh Dixit and Jitendra Kushwaha. Mr Dixit, who is a local BJP leader, and Mr Kushwaha started thrashing Barnu. Videos of the incident have gone viral on social media.
Citing the same video, Congress leader Kamal Nath wrote to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, demanding his immediate resignation.
"After all, what do you want? When you cannot stop atrocities on tribals then at least resign from the post of Chief Minister. The hypocrisy of washing feet cannot atone for your cruel power," he wrote on X.
"Have you given license to BJP workers to commit atrocities on tribals? Every time the person committing atrocities on Dalits is either a leader of the BJP or someone associated with it. Shivraj ji, you must leave now so that Madhya Pradesh gets free from this cruelty," he added.
Barnu was taken to a hospital, where he is currently undergoing treatment, police said, adding that a case has been registered against the two accused.
The incident comes at a time when there are growing concerns over crimes against tribals in Madhya Pradesh. In July, a video of an alleged BJP leader urinating on a tribal man in Sidhi district went viral, sparking widespread outrage.
Ramdas Puri, the BJP district president, announced that Mr Dixit has been expelled from the party.
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