BJP Leader Attacked During Poll Debate in Tikamgarh, MP, India

Two persons allegedly attacked a local BJP leader during a poll debate organised by a national news channel in Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh, police said on Sunday. Police have arrested one person in connection with the incident that occurred at a ground in Nazarbag where a news channel organised a debate on Saturday night. Representatives from the BJP and Congress, among others, participated in the debate. The accused, Himanshu Tiwari and Babar, allegedly raised slogans against the BJP and made objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP’s district media cell in-charge, Prafull Dwivedi, objected to this, and the duo allegedly threw a chair at him. Some local leaders intervened to protect Dwivedi, leading to a scuffle. Based on Dwivedi’s complaint, a case was registered against the alleged accused under sections 499 (defamation), 294 (obscene act), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. While Babar has been arrested, a search is on for Tiwari, who is absconding. District Congress president Naveen Sahu clarified that the accused had nothing to do with his party, and they were present as spectators. This is the second such incident during a poll debate organised by news channels in Madhya Pradesh. Earlier on April 13, workers and leaders of the Congress and BJP allegedly attacked each other with sticks and plastic chairs during a debate organised by a news channel at a public park in Jabalpur. A video of the incident surfaced on social media, showing some people scuffling and throwing plastic chairs at each other.