Meghalaya leaders slam Kirti Azad for mocking Khasi attire; CM Conrad seeks TMC apology, BJP says ‘Don’t Vote for TMC’

Leaders cutting across party lines in Meghalaya have come out all guns blazing against TMC leader Kirti Azad for his tweet mocking the traditional Khasi attire and Prime Minister Narendra Modi who wore it during his recent Meghalaya visit.

In his first response, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma termed Kirti Azad’s comments as very insulting to the people of the state especially the Khasi tribe. Chief Minister Sangma said that such a statement was really unfortunate and also demanded apology from the TMC leadership.
The Meghalaya Chief Minister said, “Yes, I saw the Tweet given by one particular TMC leader regarding the traditional wear that the Honourable Prime Minister was wearing which is a Khasi traditional dress and it is really unfortunate.”

“This kind of statement which is very very insulting to the people of our state and especially to the Khasi tribe people of our state. This is a very insensitive statement that has been made and the concerned political party must apologize for insulting our people and our culture,” the Meghalaya Chief Minister added.

Apart from this, Conrad Sangma also specifically demanded apology from the Meghalaya TMC leadership for “insulting the people and the culture.”

The Meghalaya BJP too launched a scathing attack on the TMC. Meghalaya BJP president Ernest Mawrie joined the chorus in criticizing Kirti Azad and said that such a comment is totally unacceptable. Mawrie, while maintaining that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a special place in his heart for the culture and traditions of Northeast, said that Kirti Azad had insulted the culture and the Khasi people.

The Meghalaya BJP president also appealed the people not to vote for the TMC and demanded that the party must apologize to the society.

It may be mentioned, Trinamool Congress leader and former cricketer Kirti Azad allegedly made fun of the traditional Khasi tribal attire worn by PM Modi during his recent Meghalaya visit. In his tweet, Kirti Azad shared a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wearing the traditional Khasi attire alongside a screenshot of a female model wearing a similar attire on an online shopping website.

He captioned the picture as ‘Neither male nor female. Only a worshipper of fashion.’ Besides, it was also written in the photo that the ‘multi-floral embroidered dress’ can be bought online easily. Azad later deleted the tweet.