A day after a video clip showing a child being kicked away allegedly by Madhya Pradesh husbandry minister went viral on social media, the government on Monday questioned its veracity and denied the allegation.
“No such incident took place. Still Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will talk to the minister,” said government spokesperson Narottam Mishra about the incident of Panna district allegedly related to minister Kusum Mehdele.
Watch and Read: (Video) Democracy shamed: Madhya Pradesh minister kicks boy in head because he asked for her help
Bharatiya Janata Party state spokesperson Hitesh Vajpayee also said the party had a word with the minister. “She denied the allegation. She is a senior woman minister and needs to be trusted for her version. Besides the video clip needs to be investigated too.”
According to witnesses, as Madhya Pradesh minister Kusum Mehdele was going towards her car at the completion of the programme, the 10-year-old boy approached her and begged for one rupee, and even lowered his head towards her feet. An enraged minister lashed with her foot, hitting him on the head. The incident created a sensation but no one intervened, till some officials came and dragged the boy away.
The opposition Congress demanded Mehdele, who holds the horticulture and food processing and the animal husbandry portfolios, be sacked. State party spokesman K.K. Mishra said she had no right to remain in her position for “even one minute more”.
MP government says minister never kicked child, despite it being captured on camera