New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kedarnath Shukla has criticised the Madhya Pradesh police’s decision to bulldoze the house of Pravesh Shukla, who has been jailed for urinating on an Adivasi man.
“The house was their (Pravesh’s family’s) ancestral property. It was their family home from their grandfather’s time. It should not have been demolished by the authorities… No matter who is the accused, his family should not be made to suffer,” Kedarnath told The Indian Express.
This statement gains significance also because the Congress had been alleging that Pravesh was close to the BJP, in particular to Sidhi MLA Kedarnath. “The name of the accused is being told as Pravesh Shukla, who is the representative of the BJP MLA. The MLA is Kedar Nath Shukla. There are photographs of the accused urinating on the tribal youth along with veteran BJP leaders,” Congress leader Abbas Hafeez had tweeted soon after the incident.
Reacting after a video of the urination incident went viral, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met the victim and washed his feet. The police invoked the stringent National Security Act and arrested the accused, and demolished “illegal” portions of Pravesh’s home.
While speaking up for Pravesh, Kedarnath claimed he was not disagreeing with the BJP. “My party speaks for justice. As humans, it is our duty to think and apply our minds… and not just accept. I follow the party line, which is sabka saath, sabka vikas,” he said.
But he also claimed that he was not against bulldozer action in general. “I support bulldozer action. It should be taken against those who accumulate illegal wealth or are encroaching on government land… after proper investigation, this should be done,” he said.
Kedarnath also claimed that Pravesh’s family believed the video was made to defame the MLA. “They [Brahmin groups] were angry that the home was broken, but the outfits are not angry with me. Pravesh Shukla’s father also said that this video was made by a rival over the local panchayat elections, to defame me. His father supports me,” Kedarnath said.
Brahmin groups had earlier protested in support of the accused.
BJP spokesperson Hitesh Bajpai said in response that the action against Pravesh had been “lawful”. “We demolish structures of unruly people. We always demolish unauthorised structures. This action is not taken on the basis of caste and religion,” Bajpai said.