Urination on tribal: BJP MLA questions demolition of accused’s house

Kedarnath, who continues to deny this, told The Indian Express: “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.”

After the video of Pravesh urinating on Dashmat Rawat had emerged, the Madhya Pradesh government had acted swiftly to contain tribal backlash ahead of the coming elections. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had met Rawat, washed his feet as an act of atonement, shared a meal with him and issued a public apology.

The administration had gone on to raze several “illegal” portions of Parvesh’s home, and arrested him under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

Kedarnath said he did not think that his line differed from the BJP’s, and insisted there was no distinction. “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.”

At the same time, the Sidhi MLA saw nothing wrong in the state government sending in bulldozers to raze homes of the accused in other crimes. “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,” Kedarnath said.

Brahmin outfits in Sidhi incidentally had protested against the demolition of Pravesh’s house, and asked why the MLA had not intervened in the case involving a member of the community. Asked if Brahmin anger was behind his stand now, Kedarnath said: “They 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.”

Asked about Kedarnath’s views, BJP spokesperson Hitesh Bajpai called using the bulldozer as punishment “a lawful activity”. “We demolish structures of unruly people. We always demolish unauthorised structures. This action is not taken on the basis of caste and religion.”

Rawat, who earlier told The Indian Express that he was uncomfortable with all the attention on him – with government authorities rushing in to provide him everything from a new house to a new road – said that Kedarnath’s statement confirmed his fears that Pravesh might be let off by the authorities.

“He (Kedarnath) is an MLA and can make any statement. I am not saying demolish the home… Pravesh is responsible for it himself due to his actions… (But) I want him to be punished for what he did,” Rawat said.

Incidentally, while Kedarnath told The Indian Express again that he had nothing to do with Pravesh, the latter’s father, Ramakant Shukla, said: “I thank him (the MLA) for coming out in our support. We have always maintained that my son worked for the BJP and for the MLA.”

The father added that Kedarnath was right in questioning the demolition. “It is a statement given after considering constitutional validity.”

However, leaders of the Brahmin community say, Kedarnath is not off the hook as yet. Pushpendra Mishra, the state president of the Akhil Bharatiya Brahman Samaj (ABBS) – which has a membership of over a lakh across seven states, including MP – said they will urge the community to not vote for the BJP in the coming Assembly elections.

“The MLA denied any involvement with Pravesh Shukla and stood with the government decision to raze a Brahmin family’s home. Now he has woken up? Those who commit a crime should be punished, but you should not run a bulldozer on their ancestral home, without an investigation. It is not right as per the Constitution,” Mishra said.

The Brahmins comprise around 5% of total voters in the state, and are concentrated in around 30 constituencies of north MP. Earlier this year, the Chouhan government met a long-standing demand of the community to set up a Brahmin Welfare Board, announced transfer of rights to auction temple lands from district collectors to priests, and also promised honorariums to priests of private temples.

The BJP spokesperson said they were not worried about Brahmins not voting for the party. “This threat that Brahmins will be asked not to vote for us is Congress propoganda.”

Mindful of balancing all sides, the Congress has been cautious in the matter. Party spokesperson K K Mishra said, “The stand is clear: a bulldozer should be used only after a thorough investigation. You may have hatred against the accused but not his or her family. But it should also be said that urinating on a tribal is not done.”