Chennai/ New Delhi:
DMK Chief M Karunanidhi has a new dress code. To protest against the Tamil Nadu government, he has announced that he will no longer be seen in the white shirt and yellow shawl that is his trademark.
Instead, the opposition leader says black shirts will now be part of his uniform.
Mr Karunanidhi had called for a human chain of party workers, all dressed in black, on Friday (October 5) to protest against the Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's 'anti-people policies'.
Mr Karunanidhi, who is 88, says the police refused to grant permission for his party's planned protest.
So he will wear only black, a symbol of protest used by one of his mentors and rationalist leader, EVR Ramaswamy, popularly known as Periyar.
Writing in party mouthpiece 'Murasoli', Karunanidhi recalled that he was the first person to enroll into a "Black Shirt Division," of Periyar's Dravidar Kazhgam.
" I will start wearing black shirt against the misdeeds of this government from today. I will wear it forever," he said.
Karunanidhi recalled that even AIADMK MLAs had at times come to the Tamil Nadu Assembly in black shirts to protest certain issues when his party was in power.
The DMK chief also asked sarcastically in the magazine if the police did not sanction the demonstration out of deference to his health and age.
With PTI inputs