Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh: A purported CCTV video showing Manohar Lal Dhakad, a District Panchayat member from Mandsaur, in a compromising position with a woman on a newly built public highway has gone viral on social media, triggering outrage and prompting a police inquiry. The incident reportedly took place on May 13 and has since attracted significant public attention.

Manohar Lal Dhakad, a resident of Bani village in Mandsaur district, can be seen in the clip engaging in objectionable behaviour on the 8-lane highway. The woman seen with him is not identified. Dhakad’s wife is also a sitting member of the Mandsaur District Panchayat, adding further interest to the case.

Reacting to the viral video, Mandsaur BJP District President Rajesh Dixit stated that a proper investigation will be carried out before any action is taken. He also clarified that Dhakad is not a BJP office-bearer. “We are awaiting details of the incident. The party will not shield anyone found guilty,” he said.

State BJP spokesperson Yashpal Singh Sisodia reaffirmed the party’s position on discipline. He said, “The BJP is committed to maintaining moral standards. If any wrongdoing is confirmed, appropriate action will be taken.” Meanwhile, BJP State President V.D. Sharma also confirmed that Manohar Lal Dhakad is not a primary member of the party.

Police have not registered any case so far, and no official complaint has been filed by any party. However, the viral nature of the video and the public reaction has forced authorities to act.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ujjain Range, Manoj Kumar Singh, condemned the act. “Such conduct is highly inappropriate, especially in a public place. We are in the process of verifying the location and authenticity of the video. If the video is found to be genuine, suitable action will be taken in accordance with the law,” he said.

As of now, the identity of the woman and the full context of the video remain unclear. 

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Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): 'Jai Bhim': These two words have come to symbolise the awakening and empowerment of the Dalit community in independent India, but not many people know how it originated.

The slogan, which also encapsulates the immense reverence in which Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is held, was first raised at the Makranpur Parishad, a conference organised at Makranpur village in Kannad teshil of today's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra.

Ambedkar, the chief architect of India's Constitution, died on December 6, 1956.

Bhausaheb More, the first president of the Scheduled Castes Federation of Marathwada, organised the first Makranpur Parishad on December 30, 1938.

Dr Ambedkar spoke at the conference and asked the people not to support the princely state of Hyderabad under which much of central Maharashtra then fell, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Pravin More, Bhausaheb's son.

"When Bhausaheb stood up to speak, he said every community has its own deity and they greet each other using the name of that deity. Dr Ambedkar showed us the path of progress, and he is like God to us. So henceforth, we should say 'Jai Bhim' while meeting each other. The people responded enthusiastically. A resolution accepting 'Jai Bhim' as the community's slogan was also passed," More told PTI.

"My father came in contact with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in his early years. Bhausaheb was aware of the atrocities the Nizam state committed on Dalits. He told Ambedkar about these atrocities, including the pressure to convert. Dr Ambedkar was strongly against these atrocities, and he decided to attend the 1938 conference," he said.

As Ambedkar was against the princely states, he was banned from giving speeches in the Hyderabad state but was allowed to travel through its territories. The Shivna river formed the border between Hyderabad and British India. Makranpur was chosen as the venue for the first conference because it was on the banks of Shivna but lay in the British territory, ACP More said.

The stage made of bricks, from where Dr Ambedkar addressed the conference, still stands. The conference is organised on December 30 every year to carry forward Ambedkar's thought, and the tradition was not discontinued even in 1972 when Maharashtra experienced one of the worst droughts in it history.

"My grandmother pledged her jewellery for the conference expenses. People from Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada attended it. Despite a ban imposed by the Nizam's police, Ambedkar's followers crossed the river to attend the event," said ACP More.

"This is the 87th year of Makranpur Parishad. We have deliberately retained the venue as it helps spread Ambedkar's thought in rural areas," he added.