New Delhi, Aug 17 : Social activist Swami Agnivesh was on Friday roughed up outside the BJP headquarters here when he came to pay his respects to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose body was lying in state for people to pay homage.

Soon after Agnivesh arrived at the venue on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, some people raised slogans asking him to go back.

News channels showed footage of the former Janata Party MP, who was seen running and chased by people, believed to be Bharatiya Janata Party workers.

The Delhi Police then took Agnivesh in a van and moved him to safety.

Agnivesh was recently attacked in Jharkhand's Pakur district in Jharkhand when he was on way to attend a public function in a village.

Suspected BJP youth wing and ABVP workers had allegedly attacked him accusing him of being hand in glove with Christian missionaries for "instigating" tribals to convert religion.

 

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New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone and discussed the "serious situation" in West Asia.

Modi expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions in the region and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure.

The prime minister told the Iranian President that the safety and security of Indian nationals, along with the need for unhindered transit of goods and energy, remain India's top priorities.

“Had a conversation with Iranian President, Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the serious situation in the region. Expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure,” Modi said in a post on X.

The prime minister also reiterated India's commitment to peace and stability and urged dialogue and diplomacy to end the crisis.

The prime minister had spoken to leaders of several West Asian countries in the last 10 days in the wake of the coordinated offensive launched against Iran by the United States and Israel, in which the Islamic country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed last month.

In retaliation, Iran has fired drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations around the Gulf region, including the global business and aviation hubs of Dubai and Doha.

Modi earlier spoke to the leaders of Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Israel and Qatar, and expressed concern over the attacks on their countries, and condemned the violation of some nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He also discussed the welfare and security of the Indian community residing in those countries.

Around 1 crore Indians live in the Gulf and West Asia. While about 10,000 Indian citizens live, study and work in Iran, more than 40,000 live in Israel.