- By Mayukh Debnath
- Tue, 26 Sep 2023 03:39 PM (IST)
- Source:IANS
BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla has been denied ticket to contest the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections from his home constituency, months after his links with the accused in the case wherein a Dalit labourer was urinated upon in Sidhi emerged. The saffron party has instead fielded Riti Pathak, who is a sitting MP, from the Sidhi Assembly constituency in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.
Pravesh Shukla, who was arrested in July after a video showing him urinating on a Dalit man went viral, was a purported representative of Kedarnath Shukla. The claim was made by Pravesh's father. The accused was booked under various sections of the IPC, including the stringent National Security Act (NSA), after the video of the incident resulted in nationwide outrage.
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Amid the controversy, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met the victim at CM house in Bhopal and had lunch with him. Chouhan also washed the tribal man's feet as a mark of respect. He also apologized to the victim for the incident and said he was deeply disturbed and filled with pain after seeing the video.
(Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan washes the feet of Dashmat Rawat, victim of the Sidhi urination incident, at CM's residence, in Bhopal. Pic credits: ANI)
The ruling BJP on Monday released its second list of 39 candidates for the forthcoming Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh. The list, announced hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a massive gathering of BJP workers in Bhopal, includes four party MPs and three Union Ministers.
It includes the names of three Union Ministers -- Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of State (MoS) for Food Processing Industries Prahlad Singh Patel, and Minister of State for Rural Development and Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste. While Narendra Singh Tomar will contest from the Dimni seat, Prahlad Singh Patel and Faggan Singh Kulaste will contest from Narsingpur and Niwas, respectively.
(With inputs from agencies)
