Hundreds dotted the road leading up to the party head quarters.
As the ruling AIADMK began celebrations for its 49th foundation day in Tamil Nadu this morning, hundreds of party workers gathered to mark the event at the party headquarters in Chennai, violating government-mandated social distancing norms amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Visuals showed huge crowds at the AIADMK headquarters as Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam led the grand event. Hundreds dotted the road leading up to the party head quarters.
A party member told NDTV: "We have asked members to comply with COVID norms."
The state doesn't allow gathering of more than five people as restrictions continue to check the spread of virus, which has affected more than 6.7 lakh people in Tamil Nadu. The southern state has logged the fourth-highest number of cases in the country. More than 10,000 people have died in the state so far.
The state capital has been reporting a surge of over 1,000 fresh cases everyday.
Similar violations were seen about a week ago when the AIADMK announced that E Palaniswami will be the ruling party's Chief ministerial candidate for the Tamil Nadu election next year.
While party members were seen wearing masks at both the events; however, government bodies and medical experts have been persistently reminding people to avoid large gatherings where the virus can spread easily.
Across India, over 74 lakh have contracted the virus since the beginning of the pandemic; 1.12 lakh have died. India is the second worst-hit country in the world after the United States.