12 activists wearing the college graduation robes were detained by police on Tuesday for selling ‘Pakodas’ during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Chandigarh. The group turned up to sell what they termed as “Modiji ke pakode”.

“We are here to welcome Modi ji for giving us new employment under pakoda yojana. We want to sell pakodas at Modi’s rally so that he knows how great it is to sell pakodas for the educated youth,” a woman protester said.

The protesters, however, failed to “sell” much of the fried snack they had brought along. Police personnel at the venue whisked them away before the event could even begin.

The video of the incident showing students in robes being taken away by police, has gone viral on social media.

PM Modi had arrived at the venue to address a rally in support of BJP candidate Kirron Kher, who is contesting against Congress nominee and former Union minister Pawan Kumar Bansal for Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, which will vote on May 19.

The protest was held in response to a controversial remark on employment made by PM Modi in an interview early last year where he had said that people earning Rs 200 a day by selling pakodas cannot be considered unemployed.

“If a person selling pakodas earns Rs. 200 at the end of the day, will it be considered as employment or not?” he had said, dismissing criticism by opposition parties that the BJP government had failed to fulfill its pre-2014 promise of generating two crore jobs every year.