Assam MLA discreetly chews tobacco during Assembly session; video goes viral

GUWAHATI: Ranjit Dutta, a 4-time MLA from Assam, became the subject of incessant trolling today on social media networks after a viral video surfaced online in which he can be seen popping tobacco into his mouth during an Assembly address by none other than chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma himself!

https://www.facebook.com/1660881447544914/videos/320827489762407

In the video, Dutta can be seen discreetly 'mixing' the tobacco in his palm. Then, he proceeds to take off his mask for a moment. Hiding his face from the camera, the MLA then presumably stuffs his mouth with the tobacco.

Although the chewing of tobacco is a common practice in South Asia, an MLA chewing during an ongoing Assembly session is a rare sight indeed.

In these dire times, this video that shows the Behali MLA apparently 'acting up' before putting the tobacco seems to have made a mark on social media platforms.

"The acting he did , before shooting it up ," one user commented, while another said, "He is also human being like other human, nothing to say about this matter."

There were some who gave him "respect" for his expertise in putting the tobacco so discreetly in his mouth with live cameras in the hall.

Coming to his defense, a Facebook user wrote, "(He is) having tobacco with a respectable manner. He have done a crime or had done murder of someone?"

The first session of the new Assam Assembly came to a conclusion today with an address by new chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who promised to build bridges in the next 5 years.

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