Tamil Nadu: BJP, RSS-linked party brawl over 'Mann Ki Baat'
An altercation over the screening of the 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat turned ugly as members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) clashed in Tamil Nadu's Dharapuram on Sunday. A video of the incident, in which the members are seen hitting each other with wooden blocks on the road, is going viral.
State BJP functionary was screening 'Mann Ki Baat'
The brawl reportedly started when Tamil Nadu BJP functionary Kongu Ramesh was screening the centenary episode of Mann Ki Baat at his shop. At around 8:00pm on Sunday, the BJP's Tiruppur South unit head Mangalam Ravi and his associates arrived at the shop and got into an argument over the screening. HMK members who were nearby also joined the fight, per India Today.
Video is being circulated on social media
Some reports say Ravi attacked HMK members unprovoked
As per Zee Tamil News, Ravi attacked HMK members Eswaran and Shankar out of the blue, and they retaliated while Ramesh tried to break up the fight. The report claimed that the BJP leader was enraged over the HMK members' remarks about Mann Ki Baat.
Police personnel tried to stop the fight
Reportedly, the clash turned violent as the leaders got into a fistfight and eventually picked up wooden blocks and what appeared to be a polycarbonate cane used by police personnel. Some police personnel are also seen in the video trying to stop the fight. Ravi, Eswaran, and Shankar sustained head injuries and were hospitalized. Both groups have lodged a police complaint in the matter.
What is the HMK?
The HMK was formed in 1993 as a splinter organization of the Hindu Munnani set up in 1980 by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a political front to gain ground in Tamil Nadu. It came into being during the J Jayalalithaa government's tilt toward Hindutva politics. It reportedly fueled religious polarization in Tamil Nadu and has had repeated conflicts with the law.
