Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan washing the feet of a tribal youth, on whom a man had urinated, was just drama and it will not wash away the "sins" committed by him during his tenure, state Congress president Kamal Nath said on Thursday.
Nath said the adivasi community will never forgive Chouhan for the inhuman treatment meted out to the tribal in Sidhi district and maintained the shocking incident, captured on camera, has maligned the image of Madhya Pradesh. Earlier in the day, Chouhan invited the tribal youth, Dashmat Rawat, to his residence in Bhopal and washed his feet, and also apologised to him over the humiliating episode. Chouhan said he was saddened by the incident and called the victim his friend.
“Shivraj ji thinks the tribal community will pardon him. They will never do so as they know what kind of incident it was. Only 10 per cent of such incidents come to light. The tribal society will never forgive him despite his act of washing the victim's feet with cameras on. A person whose soul and conscience is clear never does anything before cameras,” the Congress leader remarked.
The incident has highlighted the deplorable condition of the tribal community, whose population is highest in Madhya Pradesh among states, the former CM said.
Only a fraction of such incidents are reported in the state, said Nath and recalled an episode where a tribal man died after being tied to a vehicle and dragged following a road accident.
“Just 10 per cent of such incidents are reported. This is the law and order situation in the state after 18 years of the BJP rule and the entire country is watching it. This is how tribals, weaker sections and Dalits are treated in the state,” Nath said, attacking the Chouhan government. The former CM, whose government collapsed in March 2020, said his successor has been doing drama for the last 18 years.
“Let Shivrajji do all the drama, but the sins of 18 years will not be washed away. If his soul was pure, then he would not have done this (referring to feet washing) in front of cameras. He has been doing this drama before cameras for 18 years and but it will not be effective now,” he said. Asked whether the tribal youth's tormentor was linked to the ruling BJP, the Congress leader said it was obvious and there was no need for anyone to point it out.
The accused, Pravesh Shukla, was arrested on Wednesday by the police and booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA). A video of the incident went viral on social media platforms on Tuesday, following which the police registered a case against him. The main Opposition party has been targeting the BJP over the episode which comes just months ahead of the Assembly polls.
