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Vishal Joshi
Tribune News Service
Kurukshetra, October 16
Raj Kumar Saini, the first-time Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Kurukshetra who has been a vocal critic of reservation for Jats, was allegedly roughed up by four youths in the city this afternoon.
The assailants also threw black ink on the MP, who had come to attend a community function at a dharamshala. Though the MP did not sustain any serious injury, the youths were thrashed by those present before they were handed over to the police.
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Saini was attacked while leaving the venue. He said the security arrangements were inadequate and felt a grave threat for speaking out in favour of members of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The attackers emerged out of the crowd and moved closer to Saini with a plea to have a photograph clicked with him. They claimed themselves to the residents of Hisar and activists of Azad Kisan Mission. The police recovered pamphlets condemning unnamed individuals for being abusive towards a community.
Speaking to the media, the accused charged Saini with fanning communal tension.
The MP, meanwhile, termed it a “calculated attack on the weaker sections. Previously state Congress president Ashok Tanwar was brutally attacked in Delhi. A section of the society has a revengeful attitude towards the socially marginalised communities”.
Saini said he would continue his battle to protect the rights of the “marginalised”. “I have never uttered a filthy word against any community. But I will contest any attempt to scuttle the rights of reservation of OBCs,” said the MP.
Supporters of the MP briefly blocked traffic near Birla Mandir Chowk to register their protest.
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