New Delhi: A BJP lawmaker watched as his son and supporters thrashed an employee at a toll plaza in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura on Tuesday, an incident that has been caught on security cameras and reinforces that many such services remain easy bait for "VIP" bullying despite public anger and protests.
BJP legislator Pooran Prakash's son allegedly attacked the staff when a boom barrier fell on their car when it was trying to zoom through the toll on the VIP lane.
According to the toll workers, the SUV sped after another car that had just been cleared to pass. In CCTV footage, two employees are seen bringing down the barrier as the vehicle was trying to move without paying.
Mr. Prakash was sitting inside the car when his son and supporters got out and beat one of the employees.
The lawmaker, who represents Uttar Pradesh's Baldev constituency, justified the attack and blamed the toll booth staff instead.
"My security vehicles went before us, but still they dropped that stick on our car, despite seeing "vidhayak (legislator)" written on it prominently. This is nothing new; they often do such things," he was quoted as telling ANI news agency.
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Patna, Dec 26: RJD president Lalu Prasad on Thursday slammed the BJP over alleged heckling of a woman artist who sang a bhajan, known to be a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi, at a function organised on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee a day ago.
The RJD supremo, on his X handle, alleged that the BJP leaders had taken exception to the phrase 'Sita Ram' and asked the singer to apologise before erupting in roars of "Jai Shri Ram".
The well-attended function was held on Wednesday at Bapu Sabhagar, a sprawling state-of-the-art auditorium in the heart of the city.
The septuagenarian alleged that the incident was "reflective of the misogyny that the BJP and the Sangh Parivar was known for" and its "disdain for females was resulting in disrespect for 'Sita Mata'."
However, BJP sources, who did not wish to be named, pointed out that the newspaper report shared by Prasad in an earlier tweet clearly stated that the furore was not over 'Sita Ram', but the subsequent stanza - 'Ishwar Allah Tero Naam'.
The sources claimed that party workers were opposed to the "recital of a line that was not part of the original verse composed by 15th-century poet Narsi Mehta, but inserted later, apparently in line with Gandhi's Hindu-Muslim unity plank".
संघियों और भाजपाइयों को “जय सियाराम, जय सीताराम” के नाम एवं नारे से शुरू ही नफरत है क्योंकि उसमें माता सीता का जयकारा है। ये लोग शुरू से ही महिला विरोधी है तथा “जय श्री राम’ के नारे के साथ आधी आबादी महिलाओं का भी अपमान करते हैं।
— Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) December 26, 2024
गायिका देवी ने कल कार्यक्रम में बापू के नाम पर… pic.twitter.com/fOGhxfWE16