Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu), April 1 A tense moment was captured in a video that has since gone viral on social media, during an AIADMK candidate introduction meeting in Tirupur. The video shows a party official forcibly removing and throwing away a whistle worn by a musician who was invited to welcome former minister S P Velumani.
The incident occurred on the evening of March 28, when Velumani, the AIADMK Headquarters Secretary and a prominent leader, arrived at the venue to introduce the party's candidates for the upcoming elections. As per tradition, a local musical troupe was hired to provide a grand reception with percussion and wind instruments.
The situation became tense when one of the musicians was seen wearing a plastic whistle around his neck, which he intermittently used to keep pace with the drumbeats.
Seeing this, an unidentified AIADMK official approached the musician mid-performance and snatched the whistle.
"You shouldn't be wearing these things here," the official was heard shouting in Tamil as he snatched the whistle and threw it away from the stage area.
The AIADMK leadership has not officially commented on the incident.
It is worth noting that actor Vijay's recently launched party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), will be contesting under the symbol of a whistle.
The video has sparked a wave of reactions online, with supporters of TVK claiming that the "fear of the whistle" is evident among established Dravidian parties, while some have criticized the high-handed behavior towards a folk artist who was simply performing his job.