Published on: Dec 21, 2025 05:56 am IST
City Congress chief and MP Varsha Gaikwad posted the video on her social media account, declaring that BJP MLAs had become so arrogant that they did not spare even poor rickshaw drivers
MUMBAI: The BJP’s Ghatkopar (East) MLA Parag Shah drew flak on Saturday after a video of him slapping an auto rickshaw driver went viral on social media. The incident happened on Friday.
City Congress chief and MP Varsha Gaikwad posted the video on her social media account, declaring that BJP MLAs had become so arrogant that they did not spare even poor rickshaw drivers. “In Ghatkopar, BJP MLA Parag Shah beat up a rickshaw driver because he violated traffic rules,” she wrote. “Since the home minister is their Big Daddy, BJP MLAs can take the law into their own hands, and now they’re even brawling on the streets! This is the real BJP. It rolls out the red carpet for big industrialists and contractors, and takes pride in beating up poor, working-class people!”
Police sources said that a rickshaw driver was driving his vehicle on the wrong side of the road, which made an annoyed Shah ask him what the urgency was. The driver replied he was in a hurry, after which Shah slapped him.
In his defence, Shah said, “There is barely any space to walk in Ghatkopar East. Every day, residents message me about the menace of rickshaw drivers and bikers circumventing rules. The traffic and local police scarcely pay attention. We were holding a protest against that. While it was on, a rickshaw entered M G Road in the wrong direction. I asked him what his problem was and he said he was in a hurry. The lady passenger inside said she had told him not to break rules.”
When contacted, the Pantnagar police said that the incident had happened in the jurisdiction of the Tilak Nagar police station. Senior Tilak Nagar police inspector Santosh Demare said, “We are verifying from the video where exactly it happened.”
