A video of Khanpur MLA Pranav Singh ‘Champion’ dancing with firearms in his hands and sipping what appears to be alcohol while using abusive language referring to Uttarakhand has elicited strong reactions from the Bharatiya Janata Party and general public. The BJP State president Ajay Bhatt said that a show cause notice has been served to him asking him to respond within 10 days as to why he should not be expelled from the party for this. Meanwhile, the BJP State in charge Shyam Jaju said that the party takes discipline very seriously and has recommended the MLA’s expulsion to the central leadership. Champion was recently suspended from the party for three months for indiscipline.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Haridwar SSP Janmejay Khanduri said, “We have launched an inquiry on the video to ascertain where and when it was made. If the firearms shown by the BJP legislator are illegal, then action will be taken under Arms Act. The MLA’s family has 11 licensed arms in total.”
The video clip which is less than two minutes in length shows Champion brandishing three handguns and one carbine while dancing inside a room to a movie song and taking sips of what appears to be alcohol. He has also used abusive language in the clip which also shows a few of his acquaintances with him. However, the MLA has said that the video is old, dating back to a time when he was not in the BJP. He claimed that the clip was edited and that he had not used abusive language. The MLA averred that this was part of a conspiracy against him.