Chennai: Black is beautiful and bountiful in Tamil Nadu as protesters used various objects in this colour to register their protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his failure to follow Supreme Court order on setting up CMB.

Black pigeons, balloons, flags, posters and giant balloons greeted the prime minister as he landed in Chennai to inaugurate Defence Expo even as the film fraternity and creative units came up with peppy protest numbers, parodies and rhythmic slogans asking Modi to go back on Thursday.

From a school going kid of primary classes to nonagenarian DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, his son MK Stalin, daughter Kanimozhi, party cadres and protesters from different regional parties and fringe groups united in donning black coloured attires to highlight their anger over the central government for successively ignoring the state on several issues.

The latest provocation of course is the attitude of the central government which so far has not formed the CMB within the six-week deadline that expired last month as it was more concerned over its party’s prospects in Karantaka assembly elections.

At the Guindy bus stop, close to Cancer Institute where Modi was to visit to inaugurate its Golden Jubilee building, there were drum beating protesters, some of whom launched into throaty and musical rendition of parodies and slogans in Tamil.

Chennai is witnessing protests from the Airport to Guindy bus stop and at several places, where people wore black coloured attire. In fact, reports of protests are coming from different parts of the state. At Coimbatore, protesters release hundreds of pigeons to mark their protest.

DMK working president MK Stalin participated in protests in Cuddalore, where too thousands of balloons were released in the air.

Ending the second phase of his Cauvery retrieval tour, Stalin said the PM instead of facing the ire of the protesters, chose to fly in helicopter. Modi is not the first prime minister to get black flag reception in Tamil Nadu.

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Jawaharlal Nehru faced a black flag protests from DMK cadres in the 1950s and later Mrs Indira Gandhi faced similar protests during emergency when she visited Tamil Nadu.

Prime Minister Modi has ignored all protests from Tamil Nadu for a long time, Stalin said wondering as to when the central government would come on to the ground and meet the protesters and assuage their sentiments and solve their problems.

In the morning Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Chennai amid vociferous protests over Cauvery issue and took the chopper instead of going by road to Mahabalipuram, from where he attended the Defence Expo.

Chennai authorities posted 10,000 policemen for security duties as protesters had announced black flag protests during Modi’s visit.

Police had detained high profile protesters in the morning itself. Among those held included

Bharatiraja, Seeman, Vetrimaran and others.

TN governor Banwarilal Purohit, union defence minister Nirmala Seetharaman, chief minister Edapaddi Palaniwami, deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and senior officials were present to receive the prime minister.

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