An activist in Chennai has been taken into custody by the police for spraying black paint onto Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s picture which was pasted by the BJP on the 44th Chess Olympiad posters put up in Chennai. The activist who was detained by the police on Wednesday, July 27, has been identified as Sasikumar who is a part of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, a socio-political organisation based in Tamil Nadu.
Posters have been put up across the city as part of the Tamil Nadu government's publicity campaign for the 44th Chess Olympiad, which is set to commence on Thursday, July 28. The BJP in Tamil Nadu has been protesting the exclusion of Prime Minister Narendra’s Modi’s name and images from the posters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Chennai to inaugurate the Chess Olympiad.
In a video posted on Twitter, Amar Prasad Reddy, who is the head of the BJP state Sports and Skill Development Cell, claimed that Tamil Nadu had the opportunity to host the Chess Olympiad because of the Union government. He added that the DMK government was “making a huge mistake” by not including the Prime Minister’s picture in the posters. “This is not a DMK party function. This is a government (sponsored) event. The Prime Minister's photograph must be featured," he said in the video clip.
@chennaichess22 ஒலிம்பியாட் விளம்பரத்தில் உள்ள மோடியின் படத்தை கருப்பு மையால் அழித்த தந்தை பெரியார் திராவிடர் கழகத்தை சார்ந்த சசிகுமார் கைது @rajakumaari @niranjan2428 @Ahmedshabbir20 @Jayachandran_DJ @Priyan_reports @Mugilan__C @rameshibn @BJP4TamilNadu @gavastk pic.twitter.com/Sk2V9ivP3F
— Nithyanandan (@SaNithyanandan) July 27, 2022
When asked by PTI if he had taken permission from authorities to fix the portraits of Modi on hoardings, he replied: "Should the Prime Minister's photograph be a part of the campaign or not? Prime Minister Modi ji's portraits must definitely be part of the publicity campaign." When asked again, Reddy told PTI that he did not seek permission from authorities to stick the Prime Minister’s photographs on billboards. He said he started fixing Prime Minister's portraits on hoardings on Wednesday, July 27.
On July 26, around 10 BJP functionaries walked out of a Chess Olympiad torch relay event held in Coimbatore. They walked out in the middle of the event because the organisers and Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, who participated in the event, did not mention Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name.
(With PTI inputs)