Dilip Ghosh asks TMC MP Nusrat Jahan to resign for 'shaming' Indian culture; draws flak

On Wednesday, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh sparked a row after he made a personal attack on TMC MP Nusrat Jahan over her marital status. Stressing that she is a "woman" parliamentarian, he accused her of shaming Indian culture for claiming that she is not married after "applying sindoor, addressing a man as her husband and inviting the CM to her reception". Contending that cannot be the ideology of India or the state, he called upon the actor to resign. In the alternative, he demanded that TMC must suspend her. 

This evoked an angry reaction from Congress:

Nusrat Jahan's clarification on marital status

Seeking to address rumours about the status of her relationship, Nusrat Jahan released an official statement on June 9 claiming that her marriage with Nikhil Jain was "invalid" was it was not registered in India. Revealing that they separated a long time ago, the actor stated that all expenses have always been borne by her. Moreover, she accused Jain of accessing her bank accounts illegally post-separation and mishandling funds.

She affirmed, "Being 'rich' does not always give a man the right to act as a victim and belittle the woman alone, in the society". Responding to this a day later, Nikhil Jain insisted that they lived together as "husband and wife" and introduced themselves as a married couple in society. Claiming that she had refused to get the marriage registered, he termed the TMC MP's allegations as "baseless, derogatory and devoid of truth". 

BJP MP demands action

In more In trouble for  Nusrat Jahan, BJP parliamentarian Sanghamitra Maurya urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on June 19 to take action against her for "unethical conduct". Citing her bio profile on the Lok Sabha website, Maurya pointed out that the name of Jahan's spouse and date of marriage are mentioned as 'Nikhil Jain' and June 19, 2019, respectively. While conceding that nobody has the right to encroach upon the actor's private life, the BJP MP accused her of "cheating" the electorate by giving false information to the Lok Sabha secretariat.

Stressing on the need for MPs to maintain ethical propriety, she added, "Smt. Nusrat Jahan's conduct belies all such expectations by her brazen non-adherence to the high standards of morality, dignity. decency and values in public life, expected from elected representatives. It is thus requested that appropriate action against Smt. Nusrat Jahan be initiated under the relevant rules of Lok Sabha procedure and/or the matter be referred to Committee on Ethics for detailed investigation of her illegal and unethical conduct". To buttress her case, the BJP MP provided the relevant YouTube link.