Artists will Never Sell Out for Rs 50,000: Assam Icon Zubeen Garg

Guwahati, December 19, 2019:

Assam's musical icon, launching into a tirade against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership, assured that the artists of the State would never "sell out" for a "paltry" sum of Rs 50,000.

Zubeen made the statement while addressing a huge gathering of Guwahati citizens who had congregated at the Guwahati Engineering College field to oppose the recent amendment of the Citizenship Act.

Calling the Government's recent proposal to award a one-time pension of Rs 50,000 to 2,000 artistes a "lillipop", Zubeen alleged that the announcement was made in direct response to the Assam artist community's opposition to the Bill.

Speaking to the gathering, Zubeen said, "Artists will never sell out for Rs 50,000; I am doing far more charitable work from my residence in Kahilipara. I am dispensing such amounts to the needy every day. A one-time payment of Rs 50,000 to 2,000 artistes is not a big deal."

At one point, Zubeen, turning emotional, said that his Guru never received pension money despite his best efforts. "And now, the government is announcing pensions to the artists. This has never happened earlier. This stinks of an 'election lollipop'...", the heartthrob said.

Zubeen also assured that he would visit the homes of the protesters who had been martyred during the protests against the Bill-turned-Act.

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