Kolkata: Iskcon Kolkata vice-president and spokesperson Radharamn Das took to X on Sunday to announce that he had been “relieved of all responsibilities within ISKCON and has been directed not to represent or speak on behalf of Iskcon before the media, govt authorities, or any public forum”. Within hours, however, he deleted the post. While Iskcon did not issue any statement, Das disconnected calls made to him.Das also did away with his Iskcon designations from his X profile. While he first described himself as ‘Hindu’ on his profile, he later changed it to ‘servant’.Das’s initial announcement comes amid a controversy over the menu in school mid-day meals. On June 22, the Bengal budget stated that Iskcon would be roped in to serve mid-day meals in Kolkata schools. Soon after, Das remarked that these meals would be nutritious but would not include eggs. He argued that the protein content in eggs could be replaced by other plant-source food items — a comment that drew scrutiny from medical experts and the opposition. A section of Bengal BJP netas publicly blamed Das for needlessly precipating the issue into a sesntive veg versus non-veg debate in Bengal.In his now-deleted post, Das did not explicitly cite this controversy as the reason for his removal. Instead, he alleged, “As communicated to me, the actions against me relate primarily to the following matters…” and listed six reasons. The first, he claimed, was his media statement on the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh, including speaking on behalf of Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu. He also cited his Rs 100-crore defamation notice to Maneka Gandhi and his filing of a cyber complaint over derogatory public remarks made against Iskcon by comedian Surleen Kaur. He also listed his public statements defending Sanatana Dharma in response to the ‘Eradicate Sanatan’ lobby, and sharing a social media post about the historical association of Donald Trump with the 1976 New York Rathayatra, as reasons for the step taken against him. Finally, he pointed to a May 29 television interview, in which he was seen praising Suvendu Adhikari.Das’s post read: “I respect the decisions taken by the authorities and will abide by the directions issued to me. Accordingly, I shall not be interacting with the media or making any further public statements on these matters on behalf of Iskcon. I request journalists and media organisations to kindly respect this position and refrain from seeking comments or interviews.”Das had been appointed as a trustee and the chief priest for the Digha Jagannath temple by the Mamata Banerjee-led govt. Banerjee also appointed him as a trustee for the Durga Angan project in New Town. His closeness to the Trinamool govt, and Banerjee in particular, had frequently been questioned by Bengal BJP functionaries.Das was also the director of the Iskcon Food Relief Foundation.
