Activist Piyush Manush was thrashed by BJP workers in the Salem after a heated argument broke out at the party office in Salem on Wednesday. What started as an argument between Piyush and the BJP party workers ended in an ugly fistfight, with a group of workers beating Piyush up.
On Wednesday, Piyush Manush had posted on his Facebook page about his impending visit to the BJP office. “Will visit BJP office in Salem seeking their views on the economy, Kashmir crisis and many other issues.. 5.00 pm today.. FB live,” the post read. Another activist and Piyush's friend said that one of the purposes of going to the BJP office was to confront the party about threats that Piyush and his family had been constantly receiving from party members.
In the evening, Piyush had reached the office as promised and went to the first floor seeking an audience with the party functionaries.
In his live video, which has been posted on his FB wall, Piyush is seen starting the conversation with a BJP functionary about the threats that he had been receiving from another BJP worker. He mentions a man called Manikandan who had allegedly been sending him threats, but the BJP functionary defended Manikandan and said that he was only retorting to Piyush in kind.
The argument then shifts to Kashmir and even as the two men speak in loud voices, more BJP workers are seen crowding around them. The row escalates as more people start addressing Piyush. At one point in time, the men put a garland of slippers on Piyush and start talking rudely to him. The live video ends as the attack begins and the phone purportedly falls down.
Later, other videos telecast on TV channels show a group of people violently attacking Piyush Manush in the presence of several police officers. Though the policemen try to intervene and separate the two parties, Piyush gets thrashed.
Meanwhile, Piyush has filed a police complaint against the BJP workers in Hasthampatti police station after the attack. “We are investigating the case. We received his complaint and have given him a memo. FIR has not been registered yet, investigation is going on,” a policeman from the station told TNM.
As the videos from the attack spread on social media, politicians and activists expressed their support to Piyush Manush and condemned BJP for the brutal attack. BJP, however, defended themselves and stated that Piyush Manush had entered the party office without permission and had attacked the cadres there. BJP State President Tamilisai Soundararajan also called for the police to take stringent action against Piyush Manush to maintain law and order.
In January this year, Piyush had filed a harassment complaint with the Salem police alleging constant abuse and harassment from the members of the Hindu Makkal katchi and other right-wing groups. He had claimed that the abuse began after a conversation he had with the BJP National Secretary H Raja.