One of the incidents involves the son of Prahlad Patel, a former Union minister who is now a cabinet minister in the Madhya Pradesh government.
Others who’ve been in the eye of a storm are Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot’s grandson, Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa’s son, Uttar Pradesh minister Ravindra Jaiswal’s son, Madhya Pradesh state health minister Shivaji Patel’s son and Odisha Governor Raghubar Das’s son.
Analysts said the incidents have damaged the party’s image.
Bhopal-based political analyst Girija Shankar told ThePrint that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in Delhi, his thrust was to end the VIP culture in governance and politics. But the spate of incidents involving BJP leaders’ children shows that “everybody wants to be a VIP, whether it’s their kin or their staff”.
“This is not a new phenomenon. During the days of Sanjay Gandhi, who used to roam with his friends to show his influence and bypass rules and regulations, Congress chief ministers used to please Sanjay Gandhi to reach Indira Gandhi,” Shanker said.
“This disease hadn’t affected the BJP in the past few decades. However, since the BJP became the ruling party, most of the shortcomings of the Congress have now reached the BJP’s door. Now, most ministers’ sons and relatives are flouting rules to show their influence and power. This is damaging for a party like the BJP, which used to be called a party with a difference,” he added.
Even BJP leaders concede that the incidents have embarrassed the party.
“It’s quite embarrassing for a party when such incidents are reported. They not only embarrass the party but also raise questions about our governance when police and government officials are ultimately punished,” said a senior BJP leader in Uttar Pradesh.
“Many cases arise from a scuffle, but they damage the party’s image. The party has noticed such cases and has always maintained that the law of the land should not be violated,” said Madhya Pradesh BJP state secretary Rajneesh Agrawal.
Several of the incidents made headlines as a result of viral videos. ThePrint has not independently verified their authenticity.
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‘My father is a minister. He will get your uniform removed’
In one of the more prominent cases that made headlines, a video purportedly showing Prabal Patel, son of Madhya Pradesh panchayat and rural development minister Prahlad Patel, threatening police officers went viral this week.
The video appears to show Prabal pushing and threatening the police officers for stopping him during an altercation in Jabalpur following a car collision allegedly involving the BJP leader’s son on 9 October.
Navbharat Times reported that Prabal was allegedly driving a car without a licence plate in the city’s Labor Chowk area when his car hit a bike. He allegedly got out of his car in anger and started arguing with a doctor who was riding the bike.
During the argument, he also allegedly misbehaved with the doctor, and as the situation escalated, police were called in to intervene.
The video appears to show Prabal and his associates clashing with police officers and even abusing a policeman who tried to stop him.
“Do you know who I am? My father is a minister. He will get your uniform removed,” Prabal allegedly said.
The doctor didn’t file a complaint against the minister’s son, the report said.
Governor’s grandson ‘tried to snatch mobile from cop’
Another video that went viral purportedly showed Vishal Gehlot—the grandson of Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot and the son of former BJP MLA Jitendra Gehlot—trying to snatch a mobile phone from a police officer after a scuffle during a Durga idol immersion in Madhya Pradesh’s Nagda town on 12 October.
The dispute began when the police tried to stop Vishal from moving towards the Chambal river to immerse the idol because they were only allowing a limited number of people to go to the riverbank. As the dispute escalated, Vishal allegedly tried to snatch a police officer’s mobile phone, The New Indian Express cited police sources as saying, adding that a probe was on.
Rajasthan deputy CM’s son ‘making reels while driving’
The two incidents in October come after another BJP leader’s son found himself at the centre of a row for allegedly violating traffic rules last month.
Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa’s son, Chinmay Bairwa, was purportedly seen in a widely shared video driving an open-top jeep in the rain and making reels while being escorted by two police vans.
Initially, the minister defended his son, saying he was a minor. However, the Times of India later cited transport department officials as saying that the minister’s son was an adult and had been issued a driving licence earlier this year.
The deputy chief minister later issued an apology.
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Vijayvargiya’s son acquitted in case of beating official
While most incidents didn’t end up in court, one of the exceptions was the case of Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya’s son and former BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya, who was accused of beating municipal corporation officers with a cricket bat five years ago.
In September, a special MP/MLA court acquitted Akash and 10 other accused due to lack of evidence.
The case goes back to 2019, soon after the BJP’s victory in the Lok Sabha polls, when Akash was purportedly seen in a video beating Municipal Corporation officials with a cricket bat when they arrived with a bulldozer to demolish an old house in his constituency of Indore.
The video appeared to show Akash not only beating the officials with the bat but also threatening them with dire consequences.
A case was registered against Akash, but all witnesses withdrew their testimony over five years and officers told the court they hadn’t seen him with the bat.
Expressed his displeasure at the first BJP parliamentary party meeting after the 2019 elections, the prime minister himself cited this—without naming Akash—as an example of arrogance of power. He suggested that action should be taken against such behaviour.
SHO ‘suspended’ after exchange with UP minister’s son
This week, Uttar Pradesh Minister of State Ravindra Jaiswal’s son, Ayush Jaiswal, was involved in a heated argument in Varanasi after police stopped him from entering the Ramlila event, Dainik Bhaskar reported.
The minister’s son, along with his supporters, allegedly tried to enter the Ramlila grounds while the historic Ramlila of Kashi was in progress with thousands of devotees thronging the venue.
The police, trying to control the large crowd, refused to allow him to enter, reportedly leading to a scuffle between Ayush and local police officers. After an altercation, the minister’ son allegedly warned an inspector of dire consequences. The latter was subsequently suspended, according to the report.
BJP Rampur district president’s son ‘attacked GST official’
The son of the BJP’s Rampur district president, Hansraj Pappu, allegedly attacked a GST assistant commissioner, Dainik Bhaskar reported.
This reportedly occurred after GST officers tried to stop a container truck belonging to him. The truck did not stop initially, but GST officers followed and eventually stopped it. Subsequently, the district president’s son went to the GST office and, allegedly, not only broke a GST officer’s mobile phone but also assaulted police officers during the altercation.
Defending his son, Hansraj Pappu told ThePrint the police officers had beaten his son first. He has lodged a complaint with higher authorities to take action on this matter.
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MP minister’s son ‘beat up restaurant owner ‘
In March, the son of Madhya Pradesh state health minister Narendra Shivaji Patel, Abhigyan Narendra Patel, made headlines when he allegedly beat up a restaurant owner and her husband.
According to the FIR, Abhigyan hit journalist Vivek Singh’s scooter at a traffic signal.
Abhigyan and his supporters allegedly started beating Singh, which led Alisha Saxena—the owner of a nearby restaurant—and her husband, Dennis Martin, to intervene. Patel and his supporters then allegedly beat up the couple.
The couple went to the police station to complain. Abhigyan followed and there was a dispute between them at the police station.
When the police asked Abhigyan to remain calm, he allegedly got into a fight with the staff and sustained minor injuries. After the news of the incident reached the minister, he arrived at the police station and allegedly pressured the police to release his son.
Abhigyan and his associate were booked under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 294 (obscenity), (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). At the same time, four policemen were suspended on the minister’s complaint that they had beaten up his son.
Odisha governor’s son accused of beating up Raj Bhavan employee
In July, an official at the Odisha Raj Bhavan accused Lalit Kumar, the son of Governor Raghubar Das—formerly a BJP leader and CM of Jharkhand—of beating him up because a luxury car was not sent to the railway station to pick him up.
The official, Baikuntha Pradhan, filed a written complaint that on the night of 7 July, alleging that Lalit Kumar and five others kicked, slapped and punched him on the Raj Bhavan premises where he was assigned to arrange for the President’s visit.
Pradhan wrote to the governor’s principal secretary and went to lodge a police complaint, but police did not register his complaint, his wife told ThePrint at the time.
In the complaint, Pradhan also said that Lalit Kumar demanded that he lick his shoes in addition to beating him.
‘Drunk with power,’ says Congress
With the sons of BJP leaders making news for allegedly flouting rules and taking the law into their own hands, the Congress hasn’t missed the chance to attack the BJP for embarrassing the government in Madhya Pradesh, where many of the incidents occurred.
“A minister’s son mocking law and order of the state, even beating police officers. This type of arrogance from the minister’s son shows how helpless the BJP has become,” said Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesperson K.K. Mishra.
“Once the party used to call itself a party with a difference, but after getting power, they are all drunk with power. Even Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, who heads the Home Department, isn’t able to rein in such incidents, which has resulted in bad publicity for his department. It shows the helplessness of the CM.”
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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