Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has stumbled into yet another controversy, this time by passing balloons around while the National Anthem was being played during an event at Tulakona, about 10 km from Agartala, on Wednesday. A video of the incident is being widely shared on the Internet.
The video shows Mr Deb standing with Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and a number of other dignitaries at the launch of a Rs. 85-crore food park in the state. Even as the National Anthem begins playing, a man in a white shirt hands a bunch of tricoloured balloons to the Chief Minister. Mr Deb passes them to the union minister, who proceeds to release them into the sky -- spurring one of the participants to break into a grin and clap excitedly.
Meanwhile, the Anthem plays on.
General rules of conduct require the audience to stand in attention while the anthem is being played, although exceptions may be made during a movie or documentary to prevent undue "disorder and confusion".