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Pawan Khera criticized Chirag Paswan, sharing videos of Paswan defending reservation and Swatantra Bhardwaj claiming assault and political ties.
News18
Amid the ongoing row over Swatantra Bhardwaj’s “elder brother remarks”, Congress leader Pawan Khera on Friday took a swipe at Union minister Chirag Paswan, sharing a video of his remarks on reservation alongside another video featuring Swatantra Bhardwaj, who is heard making claims about an alleged assault case and political connections.
Khera posted the two videos together on social media and tagged Chirag Paswan, saying, “Hypocrisy ki bhi seema hoti hai.”
The Congress leader’s post appears to draw a contrast between Paswan’s comments defending reservation and Bhardwaj’s remarks in the second video.
What Chirag Paswan Said On Reservation
In the video shared by Khera, Chirag Paswan is heard defending the reservation system and linking it to the wider fight for social justice.
He said, “The reservation existed yesterday, exists today, and will remain. This is a thinking that strengthens the fight for social justice. This was absolutely not made with the thinking of giving relief to someone or feeding someone. It was made by Babasaheb with the thinking of connecting those people with the mainstream in the true sense through constitutional rights, who are still working to fight the fight for social justice.”
Paswan then referred to the treatment of people from marginalised communities at temples and warned against any attempt to change the existing system.
“When big leaders, ministers go to temples with their families, then the temples are washed. So in such a situation, even if someone thinks of touching this system, a large population of the country will come out on the streets and after that it will be difficult to handle this.”
LJP Denies Link With Swatantra Bhardwaj, Hits Back At Pawan Khera
Reacting to Pawan Khera’s remarks, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) said there was no connection between Swatantra Bhardwaj and party leader Chirag Paswan or the party, and clarified that a complaint had already been filed over the alleged misuse of his name.
Hitting back at Khera, the party said it was standing with the victim’s family and had demanded strict action against the accused.
“There is no connection whatsoever between Independent Bhardwaj and the honourable Shri @iChiragPaswan ji or the party, and a demand for FIR on the misuse of his name,” the party said in a post on X.
“Second: The party is formally standing in support of the victim’s family and has demanded strict action against the accused,” it added.
Swatantra Bhardwaj’s Remarks
The second video shared by Khera features Swatantra Bhardwaj speaking about an alleged assault in which he refers to a man suffering a serious head injury.
Bhardwaj said, “We broke the head of Neeshi’s father, you know which section is applied in this, half murder 307, there were 60 stitches on the head, the person was going in an ambulance in a condition of dying, the daughter was standing outside the police station saying that if my father does not get justice, then we will consume poison and die.”
He then claimed that despite the alleged incident, he did not spend the night in jail.
“We did not even go to jail, we were roaming around all night. One thing is the grace of our Balaji, Kapil Mishra is my elder brother, Chirag Paswan is my elder brother, all the leaders, Modi ji knows her, Modi ji is also my elder brother.”
Who Is Swatantra Bhardwaj?
Swatantra Bhardwaj, who describes himself as a Hindutva influencer, has come under scrutiny over an alleged assault during a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar earlier this year. The incident involved Sanjay Kumar, the father of student protester Nishu Azad, during a demonstration linked to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
A video from a podcast that surfaced online shows Bhardwaj claiming that he assaulted Nishu’s father and questioning why he was not booked under Section 307 of the IPC, which relates to attempt to murder. He also claimed that he did not spend the night in jail and referred to political leaders, including Kapil Mishra and Chirag Paswan, as his “elder brothers”.
The remarks triggered demands for action against Bhardwaj. On Friday, CJP supporters marched to the Parliament Street Police Station seeking his arrest over the alleged assault. Bhardwaj was subsequently detained, according to reports.
What Delhi Police Said
Delhi Police has rejected claims that Kumar suffered the serious injuries described by Bhardwaj. Police said Kumar did suffer a head injury during the altercation but maintained that the injury was minor and caused by a metal bracelet (kada). The police also said the claim that his skull was fractured was not supported by the medical report.
Police have also denied allegations of political interference in the investigation, saying the case was registered on the victim’s complaint and that Bhardwaj and another accused, Suraj Kumar, were detained and questioned as part of the investigation.
Bhardwaj was detained in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr on Friday, shortly after Delhi Police assured protesters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that action against him would follow within 72 hours.
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Ask News18Pawan Khera criticized Chirag Paswan by sharing two videos: one of Paswan defending reservations and another of Swatantra Bhardwaj claiming political connections after an alleged assault, implying hypocrisy.
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Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can …Read More
September 04, 2026, 18:35 IST
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