A Hindu activist opposed to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was attacked with a chappal during a live debate on Wednesday, July 15, after he questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) use of Hindu deities in its political propaganda.
The incident took place during a discussion titled “Religion or Politics”, hosted by Telugu YouTube channel BRK News. TV Ramanamurthy, national secretary of Jai Bharat, an organisation that promotes peace between communities, was assaulted by Kashyap Reddy, a leader of the fringe right group Hindu Dharmaveer.
Ramanamurthy is also the editor of the humanist youth monthly Vijaya Viharam. During the debate, he criticised the BJP over what he described as the repeated use of Hindu religious imagery for political propaganda.
The debate was held over the recent incident of a performer dressed as Hindu god Hanuman dancing and waving a BJP flag while welcoming BJP national president Nitin Nabin in Lucknow.
Talking about the incident, Ramanamurthy said that there were several instances of the BJP hurting the sentiments of Hindu devotees for their political propaganda.
He cited examples of illustrations circulated by BJP members, including depictions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi guiding a young Rama to the Ram Mandir following the Ayodhya verdict, a banner showing Modi and Rama on equal footing, and an image portraying Rama helplessly embracing Modi.
The exchange became heated when Ramanamurthy objected to a recent portrayal of Modi in Dasavatharam, likening him to Lord Krishna. The portrait was reportedly presented to Modi by BJP members.
“They removed Sri Krishna’s head and replaced it with Modi’s head. This is hurtful to us,” Ramanamurthy said during the programme.
Kashyap Reddy interrupted him and warned, “Don’t say they removed Sri Krishna’s head, or I will beat you with chappals.”
When Ramanamurthy challenged the threat, Reddy attacked him with slippers twice while the live broadcast was underway. Strangely, the debate continued after the attacker was evicted from the studio. Several have condemned the incident on social media.
