After IPL, Cauvery protesters turn their ire on PM Modi

CHENNAI: A day after they chased out Indian Premier League from Chennai, Cauvery protesters turned their focus on PM Modi on Thursday, who had come to Chennai to inaugurate DefExpo 2018.

When Modi decided to helihop between his assignments in the city, the protesters gathered at vantage points and released huge black balloons with the words ‘Modi go back’ and set off pigeons with messages tied to their legs. The pilot even had to change the course of the flight, with the helicopter taking a detour to avoid the heart of the city. When Modi’s cavalcade moved to Cancer Institute from IIT-Madras, a group of 20 students flashed placards bearing slogans on Cauvery.

Minutes before the PM’s flight landed, around 10 members of Tamilaga Vazhvurimai Katchi climbed atop a 50-ft hoarding shouting slogans and released black balloons.

Tamizhaga Valvurimai Katchi, staged a black-flag protest at the airport’s arrival gate. The police rounded up the cadres on the ground while those who climbed atop the hoarding remained there, shouting slogans. Naam Tamilar Katchi activists who protested near the airport were detained. DMK functionaries led by MP K Kanimozhi and J Anbalagan also marched towards Raj Bhavan and courted arrest.