BJP MLA Jaideep Bihani was allegedly slapped when he was discussing ongoing drinking water crisis on Thursday afternoon at his own Sewa Kendra located within the Bihani College campus.Present at the meeting were Jagannath Bairwa, an AEN (Assistant Engineer) from the Rajasthan Urban Infrastructure Development Project (RUIDP), and Shahnawaz, a Project Manager from the contracting firm L&T. During the proceedings, tempers flared over a certain issue, and the dispute escalated. It is alleged that, in a fit of rage, the officials manhandled MLA Bihani and slapped him. In the ensuing scuffle, the MLA’s spectacles were also broken.Witnesses said that chaos ensued at the scene following the incident and bystanders had to intervene to rescue the MLA. Angered by the situation, his supporters also engaged in a physical altercation with the officials involved.When informed, the police arrived at the scene and brought the situation under control. Jawaharnagar Station House Officer (SHO) Davinder Singh said that Jagannath Bairwa, Shahnawaz and one other individual were taken to the police station and were questioned.Ankur Miglani, a member of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee, expressed deep concern over the incident and launched a scathing attack on the BJP government.Miglani said that the incident demonstrates that under the BJP rule, let alone the common man, even the elected representatives of the ruling party are not safe while conducting public hearings within their own service centres. He posed the question: “If an MLA is not safe, how can one even imagine ensuring the safety of the common man?”He further added, “Today’s incident has made it evident that under the BJP regime, MLAs will now have to ensure comprehensive security arrangements even while listening to the public’s grievances at their service centres. The MLAs do not appear capable of resolving these issues.”The Congress leader asserted that the public must now seriously reflect on how to deal with such state of anarchy. “Sriganganagar is falling prey to hooliganism. The patience and morale of officials and employees are giving way.”Embroiled in several controversies, Jaideep Bihani had in September last year, publicly reprimanded and expelled District Collector Dr Manju and ADM Subhash Chandra from a ‘Run for Unity’ event for violating protocol. The MLA was angered by the absence of senior officials to greet him.