PM Modi recently visited Shillong and was seen wearing a traditional Khasi outfit as he inaugurated several development projects there. Former cricketer and Trinamool leader Kirti Azad made a post on PM Modi’s attire commenting that what he was wearing on the occasion was a woman’s dress. The comment has sparked a row with Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accusing the Trinamool leader of insulting Meghalaya’s culture. BJP Scheduled Tribe Morcha has also slammed the Trinamool leader for insulting tribals.
Kirti Azad’s post and the backlash
न नर है न ही है ये नारी,
केवल है ये फैशन का पुजारी/ pic.twitter.com/ZY1gdoYE6K— Kirti Azad (@KirtiAzaad) December 21, 2022
Kirti Azad said he did not intend to disrespect the attire and he was only trying to make a point of PM Modi’s ‘fashion statement’. The post has not been deleted. “Neither male, nor female. Only a worshipper of fashion,” Kirti Azad wrote as he shared a photo of PM Modi’s tribal attire juxtaposed with the photo apparently from a website where the ‘multi-floral embroidered dress’ worn by a woman can be bought. ‘Like it? Buy it here,” the photo read. Many social media users were quick to point out that it was a photoshopped image. The woman was wearing something else on the e-commerce site and PM Modi’s attire was superimposed on it to mock.
“It is saddening to see how @KirtiAzaad is disrespecting the culture of Meghalaya and mocking our tribal attire. TMC must urgently clarify if they endorse his views. Their silence will amount to tacit support and thus will not be forgiven by the people,” Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa said.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samir Oraon said this if the Trinamool leader has no knowledge, he should learn first that it was a tribal attire that PM Modi wore.
“You are disrespecting Tribal attire by saying that you are unsure whether this is Female or Male attire. You and your party have a proven history of pathological hatred towards Tribals,” BJP Scheduled Tribe Morcha tweeted adding that a case should be filed against Kirti Azad under the SC / ST atrocity act.
Arunachal chief minister Pema Khandu said Kirti Azad’s language is pitiable and an “affront of the dignity of womanhood”
PM Modi’s Khasi attire for Shillong
As PM Modi visited was in Shillong to lay the foundation of many projects in Meghalaya worth ₹2,450 crores, he chose to wear a traditional Khasi outfit complemented by a traditional Garo hat. Garos, Khasis and Jayantias are the three major tribes of Meghalaya.