New Delhi: A furious Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reportedly expressed his displeasure with Akash Vijayvargiya, the son of senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, who is out on bail after being arrested for assaulting an official with a cricket bat last week. PM Modi said at a meeting that such people should be expelled from the party, “no matter whose son”, without exception, according to party leaders.
“The PM was very upset. He said nobody has any right to misbehave or take the party for a ride or show arrogance in public. He used a very strong statement and said that any such act is unacceptable,” BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy told NDTV after the meeting of the BJP parliamentary party.
According to sources, PM Modi said the people who welcomed Akash Vijayvargiya after his release from jail on bail should also be removed.
Akash Vijayvargiya – a first-time party lawmaker – had assaulted a civic official with a cricket bat in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore last Wednesday. In a video clip shown on TV channels, the 34-year-old was seen chasing the official with the bat and beating him in the presence of policemen, who did nothing. A video of the dramatic scenes was shared widely on social media.
The official was working as part of a team removing encroachments when he was attacked by Akash Vijayvargiya, 34, and his supporters.
Vijayvargiya had justified himself saying the officials had dragged and verbally abused women occupants of a residential building.
His father Kailash Vijayvargiya, a veteran BJP leader, had downplayed his son’s offence, calling him “kachha khiladi” or a “novice” and insisting that it wasn’t a “big issue”.
Akash Vijayvargiya, who was arrested after the attack, received a grand welcome from his family and supporters as he walked out of a prison on Sunday. Kailash Vijayvargiya, too, was present outside the jail where his son was garlanded by supporters as he stepped out. Supporters even fired shots in the air to celebrate his bail.
Vijayvargiya was unapologetic. “I am not guilty or embarrassed about what I did as it was in public interest… I pray to god that I should not be given another opportunity to pick up the bat (I pray to god ki vo dobara ballebazi karne ka avsar na de),” he said after stepping out of prison.
