Beti Peeto? BJP legislator Balram Thawani beats up woman in chilling video, exposes party double-speak
She shrieks in pain and begs them to stop, but fails to evoke any pity from the men beating her up, with BJP MLA Thawani leading the charge.
Naroda's BJP MLA Balram Thawani has set standards of 'governance' that we would wish absolutely no legislator emulates.
In his apparent zeal to crack down on illegal water connections, the Naroda legislator chose to beat up a woman in full public view, using both his hands and legs.
The MLA's supporters are seen joining in this horrendous show of power and pelf that cares two hoots about human decency, roughing up the helpless woman who tries to use her hands as her shield as the MLA and his men rain down blows on her. She shrieks in pain and fear but fails to evoke any sympathy, any pity, from the men beating her up — with Thawani apparently leading the charge. They continue to beat her up even as she falls to the ground and begs the men to stop.
According to the woman, while four men beat her up, another six men beat up her husband.
The women had apparently come to meet Thawani at his office to complain about scarcity of water — the incident happened just outside the office.
Caught on camera: BJP MLA Balram Thawani slaps, punches woman in Ahmedabad. @jumanasamkit gets us more on this news. #ITVideohttps://t.co/NounxnP7mg pic.twitter.com/eLQn5q44nq
— India Today (@IndiaToday) June 3, 2019
Last week, Balaram’s brother Kishor Thawani had gone to supervise the disconnection of an alleged illegal water connection near the city's Maya Cinema, from where the dispute had started. Kishor had allegedly heckled a person then who was shooting a video of his actions.
This is goon politics at its worst — happening, at that, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state — barely one week after a BJP government has been inducted at the Centre and after years and years of the party's rule in Gujarat. That Balram and his brother thought they can get away with this outrageous behaviour should scare us all. That our elected representatives find it okay to kick us and beat us should make us think about just how these people got into state Assemblies. That their party keeps them on should make us think very closely about their party as well.
There are reports that the woman under question may have Congress affiliations and that she had threatened to stage a dharna. Even if that argument holds, the point we can't miss here is that this is exactly what an opposition is supposed to do in a vibrant democracy.
An elected MLA trying to muzzle democracy itself by beating up a protesting woman is beyond shameless.
Condemnations and apologies are not enough now — Balram Thawani should be held to strictest account.
The BJP must ensure Thawani faces criminal proceedings for beating up a woman. If strong action is not initiated against Thawani, democracy would be imperilled and women would shudder at the thought of approaching their legislators — even more, if they're mouthing 'Beti Bachao', while proceeding to savagely attack the very same beti, the very same woman, that they are duty-bound to help.