Puniša Račić (Serbian Cyrillic: Пуниша Рачић; 12 July 1886 – 16 October 1944) was a Serb leader and People's Radical Party (NRS) politician.

[3] On 27 September 1927,[4] he was elected to the parliament of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes as a representative of the People's Radical Party (NRS).

[5] The movement was established following a split in the Chetniks in 1924 and built up a vast network across Bosnia and Herzegovina in the ensuing years.

[7] On 19 June 1928, Račić and twenty-three of his colleagues requested that Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) leader Stjepan Radić be examined by doctors to determine if he was mentally ill and, if it was discovered that he was not, that he be punished to the maximum extent for describing several Serbian ministers as "plunderers", "bandits" and "outlaws" and thus violating the parliament's rules of procedure.

[8] At that day's session of parliament, Račić and fellow Serbian radical Toma Popović shouted: "Heads are going to roll here and until someone kills Stjepan Radić there can be no peace.

[6] Serbian newspapers such as Politika (Politics), Samouprava (Self-administration) and Jedinstvo (Unity) demonized Croat politicians, including Radić, and called for their murder.

[4] A verbal confrontation erupted that night when HSS deputy Ivan Pernar shouted insults at several Serbian politicians, questioning their wartime record and suggesting they were responsible for committing atrocities.

Popović responded by saying "...if Stjepan Radić, who shames the Croatian people, further continues with his insults, I guarantee that his head will fall.

"[12] The opposition benches reacted by shouting insults and death threats at the NRS party deputies, who responded in similar fashion.

[11] He attempted to shoot Svetozar Pribićević just as HSS deputy Đuro Basariček jumped to the podium.

[12] A week before his death, Radić had alleged that Račić was only the executor of "a plot conceived of and agreed to in one part of the Radical [parliamentary] club" and stated that his shooting had likely occurred with the knowledge and approval of Perić and Prime Minister Velimir Vukićević.

[19] His shooting of HSS deputies led to King Alexander suspending the Vidovdan Constitution on 6 January 1929, renaming the country to Yugoslavia and proclaiming a royal dictatorship.

[20] Račić spent most of his sentence under house arrest in a comfortable villa, where he was attended by three servants and was free to enter and leave at will.