New Delhi:
The slap by Delhi BJP Minister Parvesh Verma to a man video recording him during a road inspection visit is symptomatic of a much bigger malaise, says Rahul Gandhi, claiming it is “the face of a power that no longer fears voters”.
“A BJP minister from the Delhi government is seen slapping a young man in a video. His crime? He was making a video. A road was being dug up right in front of the minister, and he had a camera in his hand. This is the face of a power that no longer fears the voters,” Gandhi posted on X.
“Ask a question on the street – a slap. Ask a question on paper leaks – a lathi charge. Ask a question in parliament – the mic is switched off,” Gandhi added, threading the recent events with the slap row.
The lathicharge is a reference to the Cockroach Janta Party-led protests in Delhi where students were lathicharged by police when they led a march to parliament protesting against the NEET paper leak on the opening day of the Monsoon Session on July 20.
Gandhi also weaved in his own experience, claiming whenever the opposition raises questions in Parliament the mic is switched off, a charge he has made repeatedly in the past.
“These people do this because they no longer fear that elections can remove them. Vote theft buys this – not just the result, but the arrogance that follows. A government that takes victory for granted doesn’t need your consent – it demands your silence and blind devotion,” Gandhi said.
दिल्ली की BJP सरकार के एक मंत्री वीडियो में एक नौजवान को थप्पड़ मारते दिख रहे हैं।
उसका गुनाह? वो वीडियो बना रहा था।
मंत्री के सामने सड़क खोदकर दिखाई जा रही थी, और उसके हाथ में कैमरा था।ये उस सत्ता का चेहरा है जिसे अब वोटर से डर लगना बंद हो गया है।
सड़क पर सवाल पूछो – थप्पड़।…
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 27, 2026
Gandhi again weaved in the recent news events, especially the row involving the Election Commission, where an Indian Express report claimed how two Election Commissioners had objected 14 times in 10 months to the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s decisions and orders related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Congress leader suggested that “vote chori” gives these BJP leaders the confidence to do as they please.
Reacting to Gandhi’s charge, Parvesh Verma urged him to “keep away”.
“Rahul ji, you just stay out of it, you don’t know a thing,” Verma said.
Read | “AAP Worker Abused My Family”: Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma On Slap Row
On Sunday, AAP MLA Jarnail Singh in front of Parvesh Verma, Delhi’s Public Works Department Minister who was on a road inspection visit in the area, peeled off the newly paved road like he was throwing off cardboard pieces and then held it up for the Delhi Minister to see.
“Aapne jo sadak boli woh ukhad ke dikha di, ab batao (You challenged me to tear up that road, and I did it. Now what do you have to say?) Jarnail Singh asked the Minister.
Jarnail Singh peels off the road and then shows off the chunks to Parvesh Verma
“Galat nahi bolna (Do not speak wrongly),” the Minister, with his arm around the AAP MLA, said.
“Kya galat bola diya (What did I say wrong?) the AAP MLA shot back.
“Bilkul galat bola. Aapne 15 saal main sadak nahi banayi ab hum bana rahe hain (That is completely wrong. You didn’t build the road in 15 years; now we are building it),” the Minister said.
“Aise mat banao na, ye toh 15 ghante nahi chalegi (Don’t make it like that; it won’t even last 15 hours),” the AAP MLA persisted.
As the Minister started leaving, Jarnail Singh, with the chunks of road in his hand, followed him to his car. The AAP MLA’s assistant, Sahib Singh, was recording the two leaders.
As the two started walking, the Minister flew into a rage, and pulled down the young man’s mobile with his left hand, and, with his right, slapped him hard across his face, showed a video.
Jarnail Singh promptly posted the video, detailing the sequence of events.
यह भारत की राजधानी दिल्ली की भाजपा सरकार के pwd मिनिस्टर हैं
सड़क का निरीक्षण करने आए थे पर घोटाले ही घोटाले उजागर होते देखकर आपा खो बैठे और वीडियो रिकॉर्ड करने वाले मेरे साथी को के साथ गुंडागर्दी कर बैठे..@ArvindKejriwal @narendramodi @AamAadmiParty @gupta_rekha @p_sahibsingh… pic.twitter.com/VR5iVQLtQH— Jarnail Singh (@JarnailSinghAAP) September 27, 2026
As the controversy gained momentum, the Minister posted a video, explaining the “truth” behind the now-viral slap video.
“Jarnail Singh arrived with his workers and immediately started misbehaving. One of his workers began hurling abuses at my family right upon arrival. In that moment of anger, anyone would react the same way I did,” Verma said Sunday.
Speaking to news agency ANI, the victim said he has filed a complaint against the Minister and narrated how he was slapped while he was live-streaming the conversation between the AAP MLA and Parvesh Verma.
“At that time, I was live-streaming on the MLA’s page. To stop the ongoing live stream, Parvesh Verma snatched the phone from my hand, raised his hand at me and slapped me. His security personnel also pushed me and raised his hand at me. I did not say or do anything to him. I had not done anything that would make him hit me,” Sahib Singh, the victim, had said.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called for the arrest of Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma over the incident.
