NEW DELHI: A youth from Kashmir, who claims to be a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was allegedly dragged and thrashed by protesters at Delhi’s Connaught Place amid demonstrations by opposition parties against alleged discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being conducted by the Election Commission.The incident took place as the protests entered their third consecutive day in the national capital.The youth had arrived at the protest site and was allegedly roughed up by a group of protesters after he raised pro-Modi slogans. The protesters alleged that he had verbally abused leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.A video of the incident shows the man being surrounded, pushed, dragged and repeatedly hit by people in the crowd. He was also seen being slapped and punched as the confrontation escalated.The youth later claimed that he was beaten by Congress workers for supporting Modi. He denied abusing Rahul Gandhi.The incident triggered a political backlash, with BJP leaders condemning the alleged assault.BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared the video on social media and accused Congress workers of displaying an “anarchist mindset”.BJP spokesperson Sajid Yousuf Shah also criticised the alleged assault, questioning the opposition party’s commitment to dissent and freedom of expression.“If a Kashmiri Muslim is beaten by Congress workers for publicly challenging Rahul Gandhi and his party’s narrative, where does their commitment to dissent and free expression stand?” Shah said in a post on X.In another post, Shah alleged that Congress workers had surrounded and beaten the man after he raised slogans in support of Modi.The Congress and other opposition parties have been protesting against what they allege are discrepancies in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision exercise. The protests have also targeted Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.The allegations surrounding the incident could not be independently verified.(With agency inputs)
