'Pride of Bengal': TMC felicitates same-sex couple

KOLKATA: In a rare political and social gesture, Bengal's governing TMC Monday publicly felicitated two women from Sundarbans who recently tied the knot - perhaps marking the first time a major political party in India has publicly celebrated a same-sex marriage. The felicitation of Riya Sardar, 21, and Rakhi Naskar, 20, was attended by TMC seniors and joined virtually by Abhishek Banerjee, the party's national general secretary and MP. "They knew the path wouldn't be easy. Yet they didn't back down. I thank the villagers whose open-hearted support made this moment possible. Love means humanity and humanity is the true face of society. This is not just the wedding of two people, but the pride of Bangla and the nation," said Abhishek. Riya and Rakhi got married in a temple on November 4 with help from police and panchayat officials. They are professional dancers with a Bihar troupe.