Women asked to remove black chunnis to attend CM Jagan's meeting in AP's Narsapuram

Women were allowed to enter the meeting only after they handed over their chunnis to the police, who placed them on the barricades near the entrance. Some people, who brought black umbrellas, were also asked to hand them over, while others returned to their homes. The attitude of the police has been widely criticised.

Narasapuram (AP): In an insult to some women at Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy's meeting in Narasapuram of Andhra Pradesh's West Godavari district on Monday, police forcibly prevented women from wearing black chunnis (scarf) and masks from entering the meeting as black marks are considered as a sign of protest.

They were allowed to enter the meeting only after they handed over their chunnis to the police, who placed them on the barricades near the entrance. Some people, who brought black umbrellas, were also asked to hand them over, while others returned to their homes. The attitude of the police has been criticised.

Regarding the incident, TDP leader and ex-MLA Anitha Vangalapudi tweeted, "In Andhra Pradesh, women and girls are asked to remove their chunnis (scarf wearing around their head and shoulders) to attend the Chief Minister's meeting. It is against the right, freedom of expression as well as an insult to the modesty of women."

"Fearing that someone may protest with black flags in his meetings, we strongly believe that the Chief Minister deliberately encouraging cops to do so. They're forcing women to leave their chunnis outside the premises and to go inside," she tweeted. Notably, the residents of Narasapuram and surrounding areas have been instructed to attend the CM's meeting and make it a success. The employees and staff of the respective departments were given targets to gather crowds for the meeting. They arranged buses to transport people to the meeting and sent them only after the bus was full.