Newly elected Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Jahan has been invited by ISCKON as a special guest for the inauguration of the July 4 Rathyatra festival for her stand on inclusivity.
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which has its headquarters in Mayapur in Nadia district, was impressed with the Basirhat MP’s fiesty response to trolls for marrying a Jain and sporting non-Muslim signs of her marital status.
Jahan had recently married businessman Nikhil Jain.
Nusrat, a Tollywood actress, took oath in parliament in Bengali sporting a sari, sindoor and mangalsutra. She ended her oath with ‘Vande Mataram’, inviting the wrath of some Muslim clerics and online trolls.
Her response that she represents an inclusive and secular India won applause across the political spectrum, with Union minister Babul Supriyo (BJP) coming out in her strong defence. ISCKON spokesman Radharaman Das said Nusrat’s stand matched theirs.
‘It (her stand) matches ours. We are not strictly religious despite being a spiritual organisation that promotes Bhakti and Vaishnav ideals,’ local media quoted him as saying.
ISCKON, he said, had people of all faiths from across the globe “as our devotees, who bring their varied ethnicities to ISCKON and enrich it”.
