Kolkata: India’s first TransQueen Nitasha Biswas is participating in Miss International Queen (MIQ) 2018, at Bangkok, which could have been the inception of a grand phase for India’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community but it has been marred by a series of allegation and counter allegations being made between Nitasha and Reena Rai, founder of the TransQueen Beauty Pageant in India.
The duo had made it to the headlines of national dailies and news channels when 26-year-old Nitasha from Kolkata was crowned as the first TransQueen of India. Six months down the line, things are no longer that sweet between Nitasha and her mentor –Rai.
The allegations and counter allegations have been highlighted in the social media since March 1, when Nitasha, during MIQ, uploaded a video from Bangkok, in her Facebook page saying that she is resigning from TransQueen 2017. In the video, she alleged that the pressure created by Suhani Dream Catchers, the event organizers of TransQueen India, pushed her to end the contract. Despite her having tagged all the leading dailies and news channels of India, mainstream media is yet to report on the same.
Post, March 1 video post of Nitasha, Rai took on to Facebook on March 3 to declare that Nitasha would have to cut short her journey as Miss TransQueen India 2017 as she had breached her contract with the organizers. On her Facebook page, Rai alleged, “I would like to highlight few incidence which has been recurring from her end after her arrival at Thailand. Nitasha has lied in her MIQ interviews claiming herself as a classical dancer and motivational speaker back home in India. Not only has she breached the contract but has also failed to deliver obligation towards the Designers, Makeup Artist, her Stylist and her Agency.” The declaration made by Rai, also alleged that Nitasha had resigned from her post with the intention of not returning fashion accessories among others and also that the organizers of TransQueen India Pageant had filed a defamation case again her.
Watch Nitasha's video when she announced resigning from TransQueen 2017:
On the other hand, Nitasha, who is at present representing India at the Miss International Queen, immediately took on to the social networking media to make her stand clear. In a two-part reply, which she termed as Right to Reply, the 26-year-old writes emotionally, “I just would like to thanks also Mrs Reena Rai for lodging a police report for defamation, that will allow us to meet in court. As I said in my resignation video, there is nothing to expose in public, as there is so much to expose in court, the right place created for that.”
In the videos that she shared along with this post she declared, that she was under constant pressure and was being harassed by Rai for personal reasons. She also alleged that the Rai’s post on March 3 declared that she had sent in a resignation on the same day, while she had sent in her resignation on March 1. She even alleged that Rai’s allegations of her not returning the fashion accessories were baseless as she (Rai) already had them in her custody.
In a series of WhatsApp screen grabs that Nitasha shared in the video, she tried making a point that she had been forced to change her number as she was constantly being bombarded with texts which were only demotivating her. She, in the video, stated, “I am here to represent India in Miss International Queen. Let me do so.” Both have indicated that they would meet each other in a court to have things legally sorted, once MIQ is over.
The posts made by the duo have invited both criticism and support from people. Supporting Nitasha, Kailashi Gaurav Arora, Director Immaculate Hair Clinic Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, commented on her post, “Till my last breath I will stand up for you, as I know how you managed for this international event. I have seen you fighting and managing money for this event. No one helped you. Please stand tall don’t worry about (what’s happening) back home.”
However, after the two-part reply by Nitasha, Rai is yet to make any public post. On the other hand, Nitasha, who through her FB Page has been sharing updates from MIQ.
