The World Cup match between Pakistan and Afghanistan is going on at Chennai’s Chepakkam stadium.
A video of a match security guard throwing away the Indian national flag confiscated from fans and traders near Gate 4 has gone viral on the internet. Tamil Nadu BJP leader Annamalai also shared the video on Twitter and expressed his condemnation. Let’s take a look at what happened in Chepak.
Gopalapuram Scion Thiru @Udhaystalin had problems with the #JaiShriRam chant during the Cricket match against Pakistan, having forgotten the treatment meted out to our players in Pakistan in the past.
DMK Minister Thiru Ponmudi’s son & TNCA President Thiru Ashok Sigamani has… pic.twitter.com/26GKYUIv7g
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) October 23, 2023
First, Annamalai said, “DMK minister Ponmudi’s son and Tamil Nadu Cricket Association president Ashok Chikamani has insulted the Indian national flag by imposing his political principles here.
Indian National flag not allowed in Chennai Chepauk Stadium ?
Kindly look how different areas of India as well are doing same kind of things@chennaipolice_ @narendramodi @PMOIndia @ChennaiTimesTOI pic.twitter.com/Bg7xcdeCLX
— Hemant Chauhan (@Hemant_thakur09) October 23, 2023
The police who were there for security at the stadium have banned the fans from carrying the national flag. Who gave this power to Tamil Nadu Cricket Association? Strict action should be taken against the constable who insulted the national flag.
DMK government should apologize to people. Otherwise, we will embark on a protest against the DMK government, which is steeped in corruption, for insulting the national flag!” Annamalai has expressed his condemnation.
Action has been taken against Assistant Inspector Nagarajan for uprooting the national flag and throwing it in garbage. He has been shifted to the police control room. However, the BJP leader had mentioned one thing in his tweet that the national flag was not allowed at the Annamalai Maidan. It is not entirely true. Many fans were present at the stadium with national flags while the match was going on. The fans were cheering and waving the flag. Fans bring the national flag in two ways.
They will bring only a brave flag. If it does, it is usually not banned. will be allowed inside the stadium. A second type, some fans will bring a national flag made of straw or pipe.
For security reasons these types of national flags are not allowed inside the stadium. The situation is the same during the IPL. During some matches, for security reasons, the flags brought by the fans are bought outside and the flags are distributed inside the stadium on behalf of the team management in a way that does not compromise the very thin security.
Also, fans can bring these items into the stadium. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association has also released a list following the ICC’s instructions not to bring these. This list is made into a poster and stuck all over the walls around the stadium. Moreover, no restriction has been imposed that all national flags are not allowed. Fans who bring banned items in defiance of instructions are bought and kept at the gate for safekeeping. Fans can pick up the items as they leave the match. The reasons for such safety procedures are past incidents that have compromised the safety of the players.
Afghan flags could be seen inside the stadium and Indian flags could also be seen. It was wrong for the guard to grab the national flag and throw it in the dustbin. But it is not true that the national flag was not allowed inside the stadium and the guards completely blocked the national flag.
