Mahendra Singh draws flak

Baba Sankardev!

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, Nov 24: BJP tiol general and Assam in-charge Mahendra Singh on Tuesday came under sharp attack from the Congress as well as civil society in Assam for referring to Vaishvite saint Srimanta Sankardev as ‘Baba’. Singh while addressing a BJP meeting at Dhakuakha in Lakhimpur district on Monday made the faux pas.

Reacting sharply, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday said, “BJP is trying to win the people of Assam with leaders who have made Srimanta Sankardev a ‘baba’. BJP is trying to win over Assam with some Hindi speaking leaders who have no knowledge of Assam and its history. We will stop such forces.”

Meanwhile, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee too slammed Mahendra Singh for his statement and sought an apology. APCC secretary Imdad Hussain in a statement said, “It is a derogatory statement on Srimanta Sankardev by the BJP leader. Srimanta Sankardev’s ideals and life is unknown to Mahendra Singh. BJP has imported him from outside. We warn him to refrain from making such statements in the future.”

It may be mentioned that, Mahendra Singh’s statement on Srimanta Sankardev also took the social media by storm as many netizens condemned it on Facebook and Twitter.