Chopra in brand ambassador dress row
A DAY after the opposition Congress legislators in the Assam legislative assembly demanded the removal of actress Priyanka Chopra, pictured, as the brand ambassador of Assam tourism, State Tourism Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma came to her rescue and said that a section of the Congress legislators were trying to get cheap publicity out of the issue.
Congress legislators recently raised objections during the ongoing session of the Assam legislative assembly to a photograph of the Bollywood star in “minimal clothes” as featured in a calendar of the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) and demanded that she be removed as the brand ambassador.
The Congress legislators also showed a copy of the ATDC calendar where Chopra was seen wearing a frock and not the traditional dress of Assam – Mekhela chador.
Congress leader and Assam’s leader of opposition, Debabrata Saikia, said it would have been better if the brand ambassador had worn Assam’s traditional dress during the photoshoot.
“I think that (wearing an Assamese traditional dress) would have been appropriate for the actor to promote the culture and tradition of Assam,” he said.
Saikia, however, said the government should rather concentrate on improving the tourism infrastructure in Assam than spend funds on appointing brand ambassadors.
“The tourism infrastructure has been improved over the past several years, but it needs to improve further and government should concentrate on that,” he added.
Saikia said the appointment of Chopra as brand ambassador had failed to increase the tourist inflow to the state – domestic or foreign.
“The data placed in the House revealed that while 28 419 foreign tourists visited the state during 2016-17, only 9 421 foreign tourists had visited the state in the current fiscal (until October this year).”