Slap lands Andhra MP in a soup

Nagarkurnool Congress MP M Jagannath has begun to feel the sting of the slap he landed on the cheek of a bank manager in Mehboobnagar, Andhra Pradesh, on Tuesday. After a case of assault was registered against him, Jagannath is likely to be censured by the party once the report of an in-house inquiry against him is submitted. All this after bank employees in the state threatened to go on a strike protesting the incident.

Shaken by the storm of protests, Jagannath, a new entrant to the Congress, first denied having slapped the AP Grameen Vikas Bank manager but later apologised for the assault. He claimed he was treated with disrespect by the manager because he was a Dalit.

The MP claimed he only touched the cheek of Ravinder Reddy. He said the manager had challenged him to come to the bank after he rang up to ask why he was not disbursing funds meant for SC/STs.

“He challenged me to come to the bank. I wanted to put my hand on his shoulder but he pulled back. In the process, my hand happened to touch his cheek,” Jagannath said in Hyderabad.

The manager, however, stood his ground and claimed he was manhandled.

Concerned over the likely fallout of the controversy, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi asked AICC general secretary in-charge of Andhra Veerappa Moily to probe the matter and report back to her. The party also condemned the incident, amidst indications that it was contemplating disciplinary action against Jagannath. “Those who hold high offices must behave with dignity,” spokesman Manish Tewari said.

Meanwhile, law minister Moily said the incident was “most unfortunate”. He did not think anybody, more so an MP, could indulge in such an act. “I don’t think anybody should indulge in such things. Members of Parliament should be more responsible, he should not have done it,” Moily said.  The law minister said he would give the MP a chance to explain his conduct but added that “whatever the provocation, whatever the reason, you must exercise restraint and that too (when it comes to) a public servant or (for that matter) anyone. You cannot afford to take law into your own hands”.