Newly elected Trinamool MP Nusrat Jahan on Thursday hit back at hardliners, saying she was born a Muslim, but respects all religions.
"I am born a Muslim but I respect all religions. Controversy surrounding me was unnecessary I dont pay heed to hardliners, it is about faith and about what i want to do," Nushrat Jahan told the reports.
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Jahan made this statement after she, along with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, flagged off the Jagannath Rath Yatra.
Earlier on Saturday Nusrat Jahan said she would not pay heed to “comments made by hardliners of any religion” after an Uttar Pradesh-based cleric criticised her for marrying a Jain and wearing sindoor, calling the practices “un-Islamic”.
Jahan was seen sporting 'sindoor' traditionally worn by Hindu and Jain women and a pink-and-white saree at her oath-taking ceremony in the Parliament on June 25. She is married to businessman Nikhil Jain.
ALSO READ | Clerics issue fatwa against Nusrat Jahan for 'un-Islamic' Sindoor, TMC MP says represent inclusive India
The annual Jagannath Rath Yatra began in Odisha’s Puri on Thursday. The much-awaited 10-day festival marks the annual journey of the three deities Lord Jagannath, his brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Subhadra to their maternal aunt’s place at the Gundicha temple.
This year the ten-day chariot festival commences from July 4, and will go on till July 15.
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