Punjab Cong MLA beats youth for questioning about work

A video has appeared on social media showing Punjab Congress MLA Joginder Pal and his security personnel thrashing a youth for asking what work the legislator had done for his village.

As the incident left the party embarrassed, Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said on Wednesday that a legislator has to serve the people and the MLA should not have behaved in this way.

In the video, Pal, an MLA from the Bhoa assembly seat in Pathankot district of poll-bound Punjab, is seen addressing a group of people on Tuesday.

Then a youth, identified as Harsh Kumar, could be heard questioning the legislator as to what work he had done during his tenure.

When a security man of the legislator held his arm to lead him away from the event, Joginder Pal could be heard asking the youth to come and speak to him.

As the MLA gave him the microphone to speak, the youth asked, "Tu ki kita (what have you done?)"

The youth's question left Joginder Pal furious and he could be seen slapping him in the video. The MLA, his two security personnel and another person then thrashed the youth and he was taken outside of the venue.

Harsh Kumar on Wednesday said he had just asked a question to the MLA but he was badly beaten up by Pal and a few others.

His mother said his son had only asked the MLA as to what he had done for the village and demanded justice for him.

There was no reaction from the MLA.

The BJP hit out at the ruling Congress in Punjab, saying it shows the intolerant face of the party.

"After Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra turned out journalists from their PCs for asking factual questions, it is turn of Joginder Singh, Congress MLA from Boha in Pathankot, to thrash a young man black and blue for just questioning him. This is the intolerant face of Congress," said Amit Malviya, BJP Nationional Executive member and in-charge of its Information and Technology Department.

Photograph: Joginder Pal/Twitter