Aspiring MPs in Assam may be campaigning hard these days, but general knowledge is an area where they could brush up their skills. In a question-answer session organised by a local club here, many candidates didn’t fare too well.
First to face trial was Shiv Sena’s Sumitra Das. A member of the audienec asked: “What is your stand on the IMDT Act?” Das was foxed by the query and asked the moderator: “What is IMDT?” The audience burst into laughter at her response.
But this was not the end. “When did India attain Independence?” Das asked the moderator midway through a response to another question.
Samata Party's Nipon Dholua was no better. Fumbling for an answer to a query, he said: "If required, I will use muscle power to highlight the problems of the state in Parliament." An Independent candidate Nekib Ahmed said he would strive to "amend the Constitution for 100 per cent reservation of jobs for locals".