Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra on Wednesday said in the Odisha Assembly that most of the people's representatives are not wearing dhoti.
Mishra said young generation leaders have not only forgotten the state's traditional men's wear - dhoti -, but also veteran leaders who earlier used to wear dhoti.
"We have forgotten Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Gopabandhu Dash, who sacrificed their lives for the betterment of the country and the state. Both of them used to wear dhoti," Mishra said.
He said dhoti-clad 'neta' was fast becoming an extinct breed in the state.
"There may be hardly four members in this House who wear dhoti. The people's representatives have forgotten the state's traditional dress. Even the new generation MLAs do not know how to wear Odisha's traditional dress," Mishra said while referring to BJD members demand to seek Geographical Indications (GI) tag for other sweet dishes available in the state.
Apart from 79-year-old Mishra, two other MLAs who wear dhoti are BJD's Nityananda Sahoo and Ananta Das.
Criticising the ruling party, Mishra said late Biju Patnaik used to wear dhoti but most Biju Janata Dal MLAs keep away from the state's traditional dress.