At PM Modi's event in Chennai, police make participants remove black face mask

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Chennai on February 14, police personnel deployed at the venue made participants remove black face masks, and provided them with disposable face masks instead. The black colour is associated with dissent and has been used by some in the past to express their protest. According to sources, the face masks were banned because the police wanted to make extra sure that PM Modi felt welcomed in the state.

Police were seen instructing people walking into the venue to remove their face masks if it was black. A journalist who had walked into the venue at Nehru Stadium on Sunday too was asked to remove his black face mask by the police near the entrance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Chennai around 10.30 am to inaugurate a few projects in the state. This included Chennai Metro rail phase I extension from Washermanpet to Wimco Nagar.

Notably, during Modi’s visit to the state in 2018, protesters dressed in black descended upon the venue to express their discontent at the Centre’s treatment meted out to the state. This was during the formation of the Cauvery Management Board. They also carried black balloons which they planned on releasing right at the time when Modi’s helicopter flew across. Police had to intervene to avert major damage.

The state was also among the first to trend the hashtag #GoBackModi every time the Prime Minister flew down to visit. Tamil Nadu remains to be one among the very few states in the country where the national party BJP does not yet have a strong presence.

In an unrelated incident, at an event in Kerala on Sunday, security officials of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vjayan reportedly had asked those, including media persons, who wore black masks to remove them. This was during the inauguration of the Gender Park in Kozhikode on Sunday morning. The media persons however attended the event without removing black masks. However, Chief Minister Pinarayi later claimed  that no such direction was given and the propaganda that there was a ban on black masks was untrue.