Pranab Kalita in his trademark jeans and T-shirt

Guwahati, April 11: If you thought that politicians are expected only to make politically correct statements, think again. Today’s leaders are also supposed to dress in a politically correct manner.

Legislators of Assam, who love to flaunt their latest Levis or in-vogue salwars, may no longer be able to attend the House wearing these. If the Committee on Ethics (CoE) of the Assam Assembly has its way, many legislators may have to change their wardrobe from the next session.

The committee has come out with a stern message: “Some honourable members attend the House wearing jeans, T-shirts and salwars, which are not becoming of public representatives.”

The new dress code prescribed by the committee makes it mandatory for male members to be dressed in formals while for the women it is traditional clothes like mekhela-chador.

And for all those who thought that salwars are traditional, the committee, headed by deputy speaker Pranati Phukan, begs to differ — the panel thinks that it is not an “appropriate dress” for public representatives.

“We do not intend to impose a dress code on the MLAs through our recommendations. Our aim is to uphold the dignity of the House,” Phukan added.

She said women members coming from different communities of the state should wear traditional attires that truly represent the land, culture and people they belong to.

“This should not be viewed at as an imposition of any dress code,” explained Phukan, who is also a sitting MLA.

Elaborating, she said Assamese women MLAs could come to the House wearing mekhela chador, whereas the Bodos could wear dokhona.

The 126-member state Assembly has several young legislators who like to dress up but some of them carry their informal clothes to the House.

Independent member Pranab Kalita — a sitting MLA of Palashbari — is always in his blue jeans and T-shirt, whether in the House or outside it.

Kalita refused to comment on the issue but he did say that “what you wear is a matter of comfort”.

BJP legislator Rumi Nath, who attends the House wearing churidar-kameez, felt that it was the traditional dress for several communities in the country. “What if a Punjabi woman was elected to the House?” asked another women legislator, who did not wish to be named.

The House is yet to accept the 13-member committee report, which was placed in the Assembly during the just-concluded budget session.

Besides setting up a dress code, the committee has also recommended installation of a “safe” in the Assembly secretariat to enable the MLAs to leave their mobile phones before entering the House.

“The committee also discussed how disturbing it is to have mobile phones inside the House while the session is on,” the CoE in its report said. “We need to put a jammer inside the House so that no phones ring,” an irritated Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai had commented when one of the members received a call during the Budget session.

The committee emphasised the need to impart training on parliamentary practice and procedure to the elected members of the Assembly to enable them to take an “active and fruitful” part in the proceedings.