BHOPAL: A peaceful march marking the 41st anniversary of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy on Wednesday was marred by a noisy confrontation between the RSS-BJP workers and members of organisations working for the survivors of the worst industrial tragedy.

The noisy encounter was triggered by an effigy, which the BJP and RSS workers claimed portrayed a ‘RSS Swayamsevak,’ and consequently hurt the religious and organisational sentiments.

The representatives of the organisations working for the gas tragedy survivors, however, rejected the RSS-BJP workers’ allegations, stating that the effigy represented those responsible for the tragedy and was not aimed at targeting any particular outfit or organisation.

Just like the previous anniversaries, the organisations working for the gas tragedy survivors took out the remembrance march from the Bharat Talkies underbridge to JP Nagar Gas Memorial in the Madhya Pradesh capital.

As the march began, one of the two symbolic effigies carried by the survivors enraged local BJP and RSS workers, who claimed the procession hurt their sentiments.

The ruling party and its parent organisation’s workers, while accusing the organisers of deliberately getting an effigy which was portrayed as an RSS worker, confronted the march’s organisers, demanding that the concerned effigy be removed immediately.

A local BJP leader, Ashish Thakur, who was among those who protested the inclusion of the concerned effigy in the march, accused the march’s organisers of vitiating the atmosphere by intentionally carrying the concerned effigy, which resembled an RSS Swayamsevak.