Residents of Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore city were in for a surprise when they witnessed a foreigner campaigning for the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party for the urban body elections.
Negoita Stefan Marius, a Romanian national who is on a business trip to India, was seen draped in a red and black shawl (DMK party colours) and distributing propaganda pamphlets of the ruling party.
Marius was reportedly impressed with the schemes rolled by the DMK party, especially the free bus travel for women.
Videos of Marius riding a bike and distributing propaganda pamphlets went viral on social media, where he was hailed by the supporters of the ruling party.
In two separate clips, Stefan was purportedly seen roaming around Coimbatore without a face mask and endorsing Chief Minister MK Stalin.
However, the clips also caught the attention of the Indian immigration authorities who have called in Marius to explain his actions.
According to reports, the immigration authorities have sent a letter to Marius saying that he violated the Indian visa rules by campaigning for a political party.
They have asked the Romanian national to appear in-person at the Chennai office of the immigration department (Foreign Regional Registration office) with his original documents and offer an explanation by Friday (February 18) afternoon.
The letter mentions that if he fails to comply with the missive, he would be liable for prosecution under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
However, the authenticity of the letter could not be verified independently, as the officials concerned were not available for comments.
Residents of Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore city were in for a surprise when they witnessed a foreigner campaigning for the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party for the urban body elections. Negoita Stefan Marius, a Romanian national who is on a business trip to India, was seen draped in a red and black shawl (DMK party colours) and distributing propaganda pamphlets of the ruling party. Marius was reportedly impressed with the schemes rolled by the DMK party, especially the free bus travel for women. Videos of Marius riding a bike and distributing propaganda pamphlets went viral on social media, where he was hailed by the supporters of the ruling party. In two separate clips, Stefan was purportedly seen roaming around Coimbatore without a face mask and endorsing Chief Minister MK Stalin. However, the clips also caught the attention of the Indian immigration authorities who have called in Marius to explain his actions. According to reports, the immigration authorities have sent a letter to Marius saying that he violated the Indian visa rules by campaigning for a political party. They have asked the Romanian national to appear in-person at the Chennai office of the immigration department (Foreign Regional Registration office) with his original documents and offer an explanation by Friday (February 18) afternoon. The letter mentions that if he fails to comply with the missive, he would be liable for prosecution under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946. However, the authenticity of the letter could not be verified independently, as the officials concerned were not available for comments.