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Congress MLA flayed over �lungi-saree� comment

By Staff Reporter - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

GUWAHATI, Oct 29 - President of the Guwahati Senior Citizens� Association (GSCA) DN Chakravartty, in a statement, has strongly condemned the �mischievous, scandalous and outrageous� statement of Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed in demanding showcasing of �lungi and saree and such other cultural items of the Muslim immigrant community� of Assam at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra.

Chakravartty said that being an honourable member of the Assam Legislative Assembly, Ali Ahmed should have the basic common sense about the ideals and purpose for which the Kalakshetra was established. He added that the patriotic people of Assam did not have any objection to Ali Ahmed installing lungis and sarees in the public places of Muslim-dominated constituencies like Baghbar and Jania, �but the people of Assam can ill-afford to accept the idea of defiling the sacred Kalakshetra with lungis and sarees.�

Chakravartty, who is also the president of Journalists Association of Assam (JAA), said that by uttering such nonsensical statements, people like Ali Ahmed had been conspiring to drive a wedge between the majority people of Assam with the Muslim immigrants, majority of whom had already accepted Assamese language and culture.

�The statement of Ali Ahmed will seriously affect the unity and understanding of the people of Assam with their brothers and sisters belonging to the immigrant Muslim community,� he said. Chakravartty requested Ali Ahmed to follow the ideals of persons like legislator Abdul Khaleq and writers Khabiruddin Ahmed and Ismail Hussain.