A video purportedly showing Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan slapping a man in his security detail during a roadshow has gone viral, prompting a demand by the Congress to register a case against him.
While the Congress said it showed Chouhan's "frustration", the chief minister's public relations officer offered no comment.
"We demand that Chouhan be booked for hitting his securityman under section 353 (assault to deter a public servant from performing his duty) of IPC," Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajay Singh said.
Power, Singh said, had "blinded" the chief minister and the result of his "failed" policies got on his nerves. "This frustration showed in yesterday's incident," the Congress leader said.
Senior BJP leader Dr Hitesh Bajpai said the incident was being wrongly interpreted.
"There was a huge crowd around Chouhan, and the securityman twice stepped on the chief minister's injured foot. In an immediate human or knee-jerk reaction, Chouhan only removed him to protect himself and the action was never intended to hurt anyone with any ill-intention," Bajpai said.
In the video, an agitated Chouhan is seen hitting the man with his hand while walking, surrounded by people.
When contacted by PTI, the chief minister's PRO did not offer any comments.
The chief minister held a roadshow at Sardarpur in Dhar district yesterday as part of the BJP's campaign for civic polls in the state.
