The club has promised to review rules at the next annual general meeting, but a senior official defended the dress code saying, "The ban on dhoti is to prevent wardrobe malfunction under the influence of alcohol, nothing else. (But) We can't say so in public".
On Monday, the dhoti issue found its way to the Tamil Nadu assembly courtesy DMK leader MK Stalin, who said, raised the issue in the Tamil Nadu assembly. "It's not just the TNCA Club, many clubs like the Gymkhana Club, Race Course Club and
Boat Club also follow such a rule, which has not changed in the 67 years the British left the country."
His 89-year-old father and party chief M Karunanidhi fumed at the episode and said the dhoti is a "symbol of Tamil culture", and sought the state government's intervention. Other parties like DMDK, CPI(M) and Congress also slammed the club.
