Madhya Pradesh Municipality Chief Kicks Man At Holi Event, BJP Leaders Say "Blessing"

A video from Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur district has sparked uproar after it showed the chairman of a local municipality kicking a person who applied colour on his feet during a Holi gathering. Vishnu Sharma, chairman of Tendukheda municipality and a BJP leader, has drawn criticism after the video went viral on social media.

In the video, a man applies 'gulaal' on Mr Sharma's face. He then bows down and touches the municipality chairman's feet. He responds by kicking him on the shoulder. Interestingly, the video was shared by Mr Sharma's aides and local BJP leaders, describing the act as "blessing".

This is not the first time Mr Sharma was caught on camera kicking someone. A few days back, another video showed him kicking the same person at a market. That video too had drawn strong reactions on social media. Congress leaders too had questioned the Chairman's conduct.

Some social media users claimed that the kick was "recreated" during a Holi gathering to portray it as a "blessing". "The same person, Rajjan, was called again to be kicked," Udit Sharma, a local leader of BJP youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, said in a social media post.

NDTV tried to reach Mr Sharma, but could not contact him.

District BJP president Ramsnehi Pathak said he had seen the video. "We will speak to him (Sharma) and seek his explanation. The matter has been taken up within the party. If the video is authentic, appropriate action will be taken," Mr Pathak told NDTV.