Man Thrashed During Opposition Protest After Raising Pro-Modi Slogans; BJP Condemns Incident

A video circulating on social media shows the man being surrounded, pushed, slapped and repeatedly hit by people in the crowd. Some individuals could also be seen attempting to intervene and separate him from those attacking him.

The exact location of the incident could not immediately be established. However, the visuals appeared to be from an area in Central Delhi, where senior Congress leaders were expected to meet over lunch to discuss the party's next course of action regarding its protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared the video and accused Congress workers of having an "anarchist mindset".

"Shame on Congress workers! When a citizen of India raised slogans in favour of PM Modi, Congress workers encircle him and beat him up!" Bhandari said.

He further alleged that the incident showed an "anarchist Congress" attacking citizens and described the political confrontation as a fight between people seeking to protect democracy and Congress workers. These were Bhandari's allegations and were not independently established.

The incident came amid continuing protests by the Congress and other Opposition parties over the SIR exercise being conducted by the Election Commission. The Opposition has alleged that the revision process could result in genuine voters being removed from electoral rolls and has demanded action against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

The Congress has alleged that the Election Commission acted at the behest of the ruling party and sought to manipulate electoral rolls by deleting voters. The BJP and the Election Commission have maintained that the SIR is a routine exercise aimed at ensuring accurate electoral rolls, with the BJP pointing out that such revisions have been conducted periodically since Independence.

The Opposition's campaign against the CEC intensified following a report by a leading newspaper which claimed that the two Election Commissioners had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions. The report also alleged that an additional declaration in Form 6 for new voters had been introduced without the required approvals.

The allegations surrounding the SIR process and the conduct of the Election Commission remain politically contested.