‘MLA Jarnail Singh sought commission’: Parvesh Verma hits back as AAP demands minister’s arrest over slap video

Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma on Sunday alleged that AAP MLA Jarnail Singh had been pressuring PWD engineers to introduce him to contractors and arrange a commission, as a road inspection in Tilak Nagar descended into a confrontation after AAP shared a video that showed the minister slapping a local man.

Verma alleged that Singh had been targeting road construction work after failing to get the alleged commission, including by digging up freshly laid portions of the road and recording videos to claim corruption. He said a PWD engineer had lodged a police complaint against the MLA and was getting an FIR registered.

The video shared by AAP leaders appeared to show Verma pulling down a man's mobile phone with his left hand and slapping him with his right hand during an inspection of an under-construction road in the area.


AAP alleged that the man, identified as Saheb, was recording the proceedings when Verma reacted after Singh pointed out that the road surface was peeling off.

Singh said he had accompanied Verma during the inspection and showed him portions of the road that he alleged were coming apart. Instead of acting on the complaint about the road, Singh alleged, Verma slapped the person recording the incident.

"We have called the emergency number - 112 - to report this," Singh said, alleging that the SHO of Vikaspuri police station was present but did not apprehend the minister. Singh demanded that Verma be arrested and an FIR registered against him.

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal also shared the video and demanded Verma's arrest, saying he would visit the site the following day to inspect the road.

"Arrest the minister. I will go here tomorrow," Kejriwal said.

In a separate statement, Kejriwal alleged that the road built by the BJP-led Delhi government was of such poor quality that it could be uprooted by hand. He said the minister lost his temper when local residents showed him the road and a young man recorded the incident.

Saheb, speaking to ANI, said he handled social media activities for the local MLA and had come to the spot after the PWD department called them to inspect the condition of the road.

"I showed him how the road surface was breaking apart. When this was pointed out, the Minister couldn't handle it; he raised his hand against me, and his associates threatened to kill me," he alleged.

What Parvesh Verma said

Responding to the video, Verma said the incident needed to be viewed in the context of what had happened at the site.

He said road construction on the Vikaspuri Ring Road had been underway for several days and that he had stopped to inspect the work after seeing it while passing by. According to Verma, local residents told him the road had not been built for 15 years and was only now being constructed.

Verma said he had personally called Singh three times and waited for him for 45 minutes before the MLA arrived with party workers.

He alleged that Singh had for some time been pressuring PWD engineers to introduce him to the contractor and secure a commission. Verma further alleged that when the demand was not met, Singh would dig up roadwork completed the previous night and subsequently record videos alleging corruption.

"I want to tell AAP: our government is doing the work that you failed to accomplish, which is why it is causing you such distress," Verma said.

On the confrontation itself, Verma said one of Singh's workers had abused his family, after which he "reacted in the heat of the moment and responded in kind".

Verma said the government was open to third-party audits of its projects but would not tolerate obstruction of government work or damage to public property.

AAP, meanwhile, has demanded action against the minister over the alleged assault. The competing claims over the roadwork, the alleged commission demand and the incident captured on video are now at the centre of the dispute.