Even as the incident of a man said to be a former representative of Sidhi BJP MLA urinating on a tribal man took the country by storm, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh swung into action and razed the illegal portions of the house of the accused Pravesh Shukla, in his native Kubri village in Sidhi district on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier in the wee hours, the Sidhi police had arrested Shukla in the case that has elicited widespread condemnation and demands of action from across the country. Also, during the day, the Sidhi district magistrate (collector) issued an order invoking National Security Act (NSA) on Shukla and lodging him in Rewa district jail.
State home minister Narottam Mishra had earlier said that if illegal construction was found at Shukla’s home, it would be razed, adding that bulldozers do not run on the whims of the Congress, but according to law.
Local sources said that about a third of the Shukla residence, which has four co-owners in Shukla’s father, two uncles and grandmother, was found illegal and liable for demolition. Parts of additional constructions outside the main house were demolished by the district administration team.
THE WEEK could not contact Sidhi collector Saket Malviya or Sihawal sub-divisional magistrate R.P. Tripathi to get official details on the demolition, despite several attempts.
Meanwhile, in a press conference, ex-union minister and ex-chief of MP Congress, Kantilal Bhuria demanded a judicial probe into the incident and that the trial against Shukla be conducted in a non-BJP state. The Congress also demanded Rs 2 crores compensation for the victim tribal man and government job for two members of his family.
Bhuria also talked about the involvement of BJP and Bajrang Dal members in two previous inhuman incidents in Mandsaur where a tribal man was killed by dragging him tied to a pick-up truck and two tribals lynched in Seoni on suspicion of cattle smuggling. He said that videos of these incidents, as in the case of Sidhi incidents, were shot by the associates of the accused and later circulated on social media. It seemed that this was being done in a planned manner by BJP members to create terror about them among people.
BJP forms probe team
Though the BJP state unit and Sidhi MLA Kedarnath Shukla denied any association with Pravesh Shukla immediately after the video went viral on Tuesday evening, a lot of evidence has become available on social media that shows the accused to be a BJP worker and representative of the MLA. The photographs of the accused with BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla and other senior leaders including the home minister, his BJP membership card, the order of him being appointed as mandal vice-president of BJP Yuva Morcha, news reports of him being appointed as representative of MLA Shukla and posters where his designation is mentioned as Sidhi MLA representative have emerged on social platforms.
Facing a backlash, state BJP president V.D. Sharma formed a probe committee to look into the entire incident. The committee is headed by Chairman of State Tribal Development Authority Ramlal Rautel with MLAs Sharad Kol and Amar Singh and BJP state vice-president Kantdev Singh as members.
Congress called this step an attempt to hoodwink people and to whitewash the issue. Party state media department chief K.K Mishra said that till yesterday, BJP was not accepting Pravesh Shukla as a cadre and now the party is forming a probe committee. “Now when a case has been registered and the accused arrested; NSA imposed, and bulldozer used on his house, why this hypocrisy of a probe committee? People have understood how serious the BJP is on tribal welfare; there is no point in trying to mislead them.”
Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi condemn
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among the several national leaders who condemned the incident.
“Atrocities on tribal brothers and sisters are increasing in the BJP rule. The entire humanity has been put to shame by the inhuman crime of a BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh. This is the disgusting face and real character of BJP's hatred towards tribals and dalits!" Rahul Gandhi said.
Priyanka tweeted, “The inhuman and disgusting act done by an associate of the BJP MLA on a tribal youth in Madhya Pradesh is extremely shameful. During the 18 years of BJP rule in the state, 30,400 cases of atrocities on tribals have come to the fore. In the BJP rule, there are only empty claims and empty words on tribal welfare. Why doesn't the government take real steps to stop atrocities on tribal people?”
State Congress chief Kamal Nath released a video statement, expressing deep sadness at the incident of humiliation of tribal people. He called the Sidhi incident an attack on the tribal identity and crores of people of the community and asked whether power has intoxicated leaders of BJP so much that they are not even considering people as human beings.
“I warn the Shivraj government to stop giving government protection to those involved in atrocities on the tribal society. The Congress party stands completely with the tribal society and will continue to bring justice to them,” he said.