Union Minister Amit Shah's Chennai visit was met with an unwanted incident after, a 60-year-old man, who hurled the placard, has been detained at the police station near the Airport. The man has been identified as Durairaj from Nanganallur, said police after preliminary enquiry. Police said Shah, who was on his way to the hotel, was overwhelmed by the supporters who greeted him and walked for at least 400 metres waving at the cadres of AIADMK and BJP. "As he crossed some 100 metres, the sexagenarian tried to throw the placard he was holding. But his attempt was thwarted by an Armed Reserve police.
The placard fell far from the Home Minister who did not even notice it. Later, state BJP president L Murugan walked to the police personnel and enquired about the incident. The police later detained Durairaj and said that he was "mentally unstable". For the unversed, Shah is in the Tamil Nadu capital for a two-day visit. The veteran politician will address party workers as well as give his strategy to the state BJP to crack the politically elusive state ahead of next year's assembly election. He will also dedicate a new reservoir outside Chennai and lay the foundation stone for projects worth ₹ 67,000 crore, including the second phase of Chennai Metro. The visit comes amid signs of strains in the ties between the BJP and Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK, its ally.