Mussorie: An appallingly tragic and shameful episode which took place in Mussorie ,were in two middle-aged men have been caught on camera clinging to a flag pole as they push and heckle each other trying to claim the honour of hoisting the Indian Tricolour on Independence Day.

The two angry men were Mussoorie Mayor Manmohan Singh Malla of the Congress and a local BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi and each was adamant that he would unfurl the flag at Gandhi Chowk of the tourist town in Uttarakhand, recently ravaged by floods.

On camera, the two men – one in a Gandhi cap and Nehru jacket, the other in politico white with dark glasses – are seen refusing to let go of the pole and snarling at each other as they make attempts to grab the rope that would release the flag. People around try to pull them away and many voices are heard requesting them to do it together.

In the end, neither neta got to hoist the flag. A two-year-old child was made to do it instead to stop the fracas. The residents of Mussoorie are livid and say it was a disgusting experience.