MP CM Chouhan washes feet of tribal man who was urinated on, apologises to him

Bhopal: In an attempt to counter the Opposition narrative in the urination case, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday washed the feet of the tribal youth, who had been subjected to an appalling act of humiliation. “The mind is sad; Dashmat ji, this is an attempt to share your pain, I also apologise to you, for me the public is God!,” Chouhan said, sharing a video on his Twitter.

“Serving the people is equal to worshipping God. We believe that God resides in every human being. I was pained by the inhuman incident that happened. Respect and security are important for the poor,” CM Chouhan said. The honouring event incident took place at the CM’s official residence, where Chouhan personally apologised to the tribal youth for the incident and sought to convey his sincere remorse. The incident came to the fore on Tuesday after a video went viral on social showing an alleged BJP leader, Pravesh Shukla urinating on the face of the tribal youth, Dasmat Rawat, a resident of Sidhi district. The video gained widespread attention for the inhuman act leading to public outrage and condemnation.

CM Chouhan took immediate cognizance of the video, asserting that the accused would face severe consequences and “strict punishment” for his actions.

FIR was lodged against Shukla under Sections 294 (related to obscene acts) and 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with provisions under the SC/ST (Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes) Act. Furthermore, Shukla has been charged under the National Security Act (NSA), underscoring the gravity of his offence. The accused was arrested on Wednesday and the illegal portion of his house was razed on Thursday under the Bulldozer Operation.

The incident took place when the BJP is focusing on the tribal voters keeping in mind the upcoming state Assembly polls that are due in November-December. In the previous elections, BJP managed only 16 seats out of 47 reserved for the Schedule Tribes while the Congress secured 31. It is considered that the tribal community plays a key role in gaining a mandate for the main political parties, BJP and Congress, in the state.