Mandira's saree sparks a controversy

Mandira's saree sparks a controversy

New Delhi: Actress and cricket anchor Mandira Bedi's clothes flagged off a fresh controversy on Saturday after she was spotted wearing the Indian colours in a disrespectful manner on a satellite television channel.

Hosting the live telecast of the Cricket World Cup along with Charu Sharma on SetMax, Mandira was seen wearing an image of the Indian Tricolour below her waist, which seems to have gone against the constitutional norm. Mandira's saree on the occasion had images of national flags of all the cricket-playing nations printed on it. But it placed the image of the Indian Tricolour in a rather disrespectful position.

The Indian Government had cleared wearing of images of the Indian Tricolour on clothing in 2005, but had clearly ruled that the flag can only be displayed on garments above the waist.

As soon as the show kicked off at 1700 hours (IST) on Saturday evening and the Indian cricket fans glued to their television sets for some good cricket, SMSs started doing the rounds in India, pointing fingers at the aberration on Mandira's saree.

According to sources, the controversial saree was part of a special collection designed by Satya Paul, which is being sported exclusively by Mandira Bedi during the ongoing World Cup.

The Indian Government had cleared wearing of images of the Indian Tricolour on clothing in 2005 following a raging debate over the provision of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, according to which using the Indian national flag as a drapery in any form except in state funerals was a crime.

Source :
http://www.cricketnext.com/news/mand.../24750-13.html