Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury was roughed up by a young man at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Enraged members of the CPI(M) pounced on him and an accomplice and thrashed them before handing over the pair to police. Both were said to be from the Hindu Sena.
Yechury described the attack as an attempt by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) "to silence the voices of dissent".
"We will not be cowed down by Sangh goondagardi to silence us. This is a battle for the soul of India, which we will win," he tweeted.
#WATCH One of the 2 protesters who tried to manhandle Sitaram Yechury during his press conf. in Delhi, later beaten up;handed over to Police pic.twitter.com/NRUcrljB2W
— ANI (@ANI_news) June 7, 2017