A Congress leader was detained in Chennai for stocking up black coloured balloons, to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the city. MP Ranjan Kumar, Tamil Nadu Congress’s Scheduled Castes wing chairman was detained under house arrest on Friday, April 7, after he organised a protest against Modi. He was detained from the Maduravoyal locality in Chennai where he resides.

Speaking to TNM, Ranjan said that on the evening of April 7, he released the black balloons sporting the message ‘Go Back Modi’ in multiple places in Chennai including Lighthouse and Iyyappanthangal. “Later, the Maduravoyal police detained me in my house. They also seized my cell phone to prevent me from contacting others, in case we planned to intensify the protests,” he added.     

According to him, police seized 500 balloons from his house and nearly 2,000 black balloons from the Congress cadre in Sathyamoorthy Bhavan, Thousand Lights, Royapettah and Anna Salai. Modi is visiting Chennai to inaugurate the new terminal at the Chennai International Airport and to flag off the Vande Bharat Express train this evening. Later, he will attend a function in Vivekanandar Illam. 

The police also prevented Ranjan from participating in a Congress protest against Modi in Valluvarkottam near Nungambakkam. The Congress also protested Modi's visit by waving black flags during his arrival at Chennai International Airport.

#GobackModi pic.twitter.com/rR0zbLNhBO

— M.P. Ranjan Kumar (@MpranjankumarM2) April 7, 2023

The protests are being held against the backdrop of the recent disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Parliament. The Lok Sabha secretariat announced the disqualification on March 24, a day after a Gujarat court found Rahul Gandhi guilty in a criminal defamation case for his remarks against Modi during an election campaign in 2019.