The Himachal Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has filed a formal complaint with the Election Commission of India, accusing Congress workers of a violent attack on a political procession that included actor-politician Kangana Ranaut, former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, and BJP assembly by-poll candidate Ravi Thakur.
In the complaint, Parmod Kumar Thakur, BJP’s Himachal Pradesh Office Secretary, accused the local Congress Party of orchestrating a premeditated plan to disrupt their rally. He cited the district administration’s decision to grant permission for a Congress meeting adjacent to the BJP event as evidence of undue influence and bias.
Jai Ram Thakur said, “Notably, the aforementioned political procession was subjected to a life-threatening attack by Congress workers, putting the lives of the participants at grave risk and even leading to a grievous injury to one BJP worker. The assailant Congress workers tried to illegally restrain the political procession and even pelted stones thereupon.”
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He added, “It is pertinent to mention here that the District Administration granted permission to the Congress for organising a political meeting adjacent to the place already scheduled to hold a political meeting of BJP at Kaza in Lahaul & Spiti under the undue influence of the State Government in utter violation of the Model Code of Conduct.”
Kangana Ranaut, the BJP candidate for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, faced a protest by locals at Kaza, the district headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti. The protesters showed her black flags and raised slogans, asking her to go back. It is reported that the protest was planned by local residents, but more people joined, leading to a faceoff. As a result, Kangana had to wrap up her speech quickly.
The residents of Spiti, most of whom follow Buddhism, were expressing anger because the actor-turned-politician had shared an offensive social media post last year. The post contained a photoshopped image of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama with US President Joe Biden. Although she later apologized for sharing the post, the residents were still upset.
It is reported that the protest by local residents was planned, but more people joined in, leading to a faceoff. As a result, Kangana had to wrap up her speech quickly.
