People at Modi’s Pune event made to remove black masks, socks, clothing

In a possible bid to prevent any kind of protests on Sunday, people entering the MIT College campus in Pune to attend the inauguration of developmental projects by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were asked to remove their masks, socks and in some cases even shirts if they were black.

Pune police commissioner Amitabh Gupta said while instructions were earlier issued to not allow black flags or pieces of cloth to the campus, it wasn’t clear if attendees can protest wearing black clothes.

“There must be some confusion as the instruction was about black flags and black pieces of cloth, not about clothing (itself),” Gupta said.

Journalist Mangesh Phalle, who covered the event, said he was asked to remove his black-coloured mask by those on security detail at the venue.

The prime minister was in the city on a one-day visit during which he inaugurated a stretch of the metro rail, a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a gallery dedicated to legendary cartoonist RK Laxman and the golden jubilee celebrations of Symbiosis University.

Before the prime minister arrived in Pune this morning, Congress and NCP activists staged protests alleging that Modi had “insulted” Maharashtra by suggesting that the state had encouraged the spread of COVID-19 to other states.

The protesters came out on roads carrying black flags and placards, with ‘Go Back Modi’ written on them, near Alka Talkies chowk and in other areas in the city.

(With inputs from agencies)