J-K: ABVP activists storm BJP meet to protest over 'insult to tricolour'

Rajouri, Jun 11 (PTI) A group of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists stormed a BJP meeting to protest against a case of alleged “insult to the tricolour” in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.

During the protest, a BJP leader commended the concerns raised by the ABVP activists and sought to calm them down, stating that the party only hoisted its own flags outside the venue and would never disrespect the national flag.

A purported video of the protest by the angry activists of the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) went viral on social media.

The activists collected abandoned tricolours from a park outside the venue of the BJP meeting at the Dak Bungalow in Rajouri town on Tuesday and charged into the meeting hall, chanting slogans like "honour the tricolour." “Your leaders are moving in and out of the meeting hall, but none of you paid any heed to the flags which were thrown away in the most disrespectful manner in the park,” an activist was heard telling the BJP leaders attending the meeting.

Senior BJP leader Rajinder Gupta attempted to appease the protesting activists, emphasising that nothing is more honourable than the national flag and that disrespecting it is out of the question.

“We carry party flags in our meetings and not the national flag. We cannot think of dishonouring it,” he said.

He commended the activists for their concern, asserting that honouring the tricolour should be instinctive for everyone and that no one has the right to disrespect it. PTI COR/TAS TAS MPL MPL MPL