Three people were reportedly detained after ink was thrown at Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait in Bengaluru on Monday, 30 May, while he was addressing an event organised by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha at the city's Gandhi Bhavan.
In a video of the incident, BKU workers can be seen thrashing a man with chairs after apprehending him.
The ruckus started while Takait was addressing a gathering over corruption allegations against Raitha Sangha leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar.
The identity of the men or the clear motive behind the incident is yet unknown.
'In Collusion with State Govt': Tikait Blames BJP, Calls for Probe
Speaking to the media, Tikait said that the violence at the event was carried out in collusion with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the state, and called for an investigation.
"No security has been provided by the local police here. This has been done in collusion with the government," Tikait said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
He added, "We were doing a press conference when some people came and started hitting us with the mics that were present there. It's Karnataka government and police's failure. It was a conspiracy and needs to be investigated."
The incident comes just two days after a similar attack on Kodihalli Chandrashekar by workers of the Janata Dal (Secular) on Saturday, 28 May, over corruption allegations against him.
A group of party workers threw ink and slippers at Chandrashekar, the state president of Raitha Sangha, following a media briefing at the Press Club of Bengaluru.
According to The New Indian Express, eight people were arrested after the incident.
AIKS Condemns Attack
Meanwhile, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has strongly condemned the attack on Tikait and said on Monday that the attack is a grave security lapse and a failure of the BJP government in Karnataka.
The AIKS said in a statement,
"AIKS warns the forces behind the incident that such threats and attacks on Kisan leaders will not be tolerated. Such cowardly attacks cannot stop Kisans from raising their voices against anti-farmer policies of the Narendra Modi led BJP Government."
The AIKS has demanded an impartial enquiry in the matter and urged strong action to be taken against the culprits.
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