MLAs don ethnic wear, ride cycles, click selfies, take oath in Sanskrit

First day, first show

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, June 1: Many legislators sported traditiol ethnic wear while some took oath in Sanskrit but the star attraction on the first day of the first session of the 14th Assam Assembly was undoubtedly BJP MLA from Batadrava Angoorlata Deka who stole the limelight as she donned her main wedding dress, traditiol Assamese jewelry and exotic red roses atop her bun, leaving visitors and the assembly staff, besides the cameramen, scrambling for a glimpse.

Most legislators had the traditiol gamosa wrapped around their neck.

 Gurujyoti Das (Mangaldai), Ashok Sharma and Teros Gowala were seen in the traditiol ‘suriya’ (dhoti).

Duliajan MLA Teros Gowala was also the talk of the town after he rode a bicycle from his guest house at Zoo Road to the Assembly.

“It was with a bicycle that I started out as a student activist of the tea tribes’ students association. My father used to ask me to either walk or cycle... he used to scold even if I travelled by bus. Today is the beginning of a new responsibility. That is why I used the cycle as a symbolic gesture,” Gowala said.

Mahmora MLA Jogen Mohan got on to the carrier of Gowala’s bicycle and travelled on it to their guest house after the assembly session.

Three legislators – Angoorlata Deka, Ashok Sharma (lbari) and Bimal Bora (Tingkhong) – took oath as MLA in Sanskrit.

“Sanskrit is the country’s origil language. The new generation should know about it. We must all work in promoting the language so that it does not become extinct one day,” Angoorlata Deka said.

Hajo BJP MLA Suman Haripriya and Congress MLA from Sarupathar Roseli Tirkey also wore traditiol Assamese dresses made of muga and pat.

Sporting a Nepali cap, Borsola MLA Ganesh Limbu took oath in Nepali.

Soon after entering the House, Tinsukia MLA Sanjay Kisan devoted a few minutes in clicking selfies.