A toddler was left bawling in the cold during a politician’s speech after security guards forced his mum to take off his black jacket in case the colour, which in India is seen as a sign or protest, offended the speaker.
The woman in the footage was taking her three-year-old son to see a speech in the city of Madurai by Sarbananda Sonowal, chief minister of the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, when guards spotted his black jacket.
They were reportedly on a state of high alert following the arrests of some 300 people earlier in the week also in Madurai for waving black flags and releasing black balloons during a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Video Credit: AsiaWire
An eyewitness with a smartphone filmed the woman being forced to remove the boy’s jacket by the men.
The tot, who was left only wearing a vest underneath, was soon crying from the cold and another woman gave him a yellow shirt to try to keep him warm.
The boy’s mother can be heard saying in the clip: “Security wouldn’t allow him to enter the meeting and they asked me to remove the black jacket.”
Online commentators blasted the security guards after the footage of the mother and her little boy, whose names are not reported, was shared on social media.
Meanwhile, the politician Sarbananda Sonowa has ordered the police to investigate the incident and provide him with a full report.
He had been due to present the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill which has triggered protests across the country that would mean migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will automatically become Indian citizens after six years, even if they do not have ID documents.
Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: AsiaWire
