GUWAHATI: The BJP Chief Ministers in the Northeast slammed Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kirti Azad for his “neither male nor female” tweet about the attire that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had worn in Meghalaya recently.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma condemned Azad’s mindset and said it was unpatriotic and against the interest of the country.
Stating that the Northeast is a very important part of India, he said Azad might have the right to hate somebody but he should not do things which would alienate the region again from mainland India.
Sarma asked the TMC leader to visit the Northeast and see how vibrant and colourful the people here are and how they are contributing to nation-building.
“There must be some reasons why PM Modi respects the Northeast and feels so comfortable with the people here. The PM is respecting the culture of the Northeast and here, we have a former MP, part of a political party, who does not know how to respect the people of the Northeast,” Sarma said.
Continuing in the same vein, he said, “They (TMC) want to expand to the Northeast and get votes here but they do not want to respect its culture. This mindset is dangerous. For the first time, the people of the Northeast are feeling comfortable after 2014. They are reassured that here is a PM who respects them and loves them,” the Assam CM added.
Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu and Manipur CM N Biren Singh also slammed Azad.
Singh wrote: “Kirti Azad’s unwarranted mockery of the culture of Meghalaya is condemned in the strongest terms. This has been not only unfortunate but highly unbecoming of a political leader to make such outrageous and ill-informed remarks against a tribal attire of the Northeast.”
Azad deleted the tweet, posted on Wednesday, in the wake of a backlash from the BJP. Reacting to the Arunachal CM’s tweet, he wrote on Thursday, “I have not disrespected the attire, I love it. I am trying to express that our Prime Minister loves to make a fashion statement.”