Chennai: A Romanian national who campaigned for Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) during the run-up for urban local body polls 2022 received a visa violation notice on Friday. The Romanian has also been told to appear before the Bureau of Immigration for a probe related to the incident.
According to a report on Indian Express, Negoita Stefan Marius, a Romanian national with a business visa (e-visa) has been instructed to appear with original documents and an explanation for violating the visa rule. The bureau has also asked the reason why Marius participated in an activity that was not mentioned as the purpose of his trip.
A friend of Marius, DMK leader Gokul Kiruba Shankar said, Marius who was on a business trip took a local bus in Coimbatore and was shocked to see women traveling without booking any tickets. Only later he learnt that the DMK government offered free rides for women in state-run buses.
Later, Marius who was there to visit garment factories in Coimbatore and Tirupur asked if he can campaign for the party. With the help of DMK members, he hit the ground and started the campaign, Gokul Kriba said.
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However, he added that he never expected the campaign to go viral.
Earlier, Marius was seen with a DMK towel around his neck and he rode a motorcycle with DMK flag to campaign for the party. He also distributed pamphlets at public places. Talking to Sun Tv, Marius said, he had never seen something like this before anywhere in the world.
Meanwhile, the high decibel campaign for the local body polls ended on Thursday and the state is set to vote for the candidates on Saturday.