After facing backlash for carrying a Dior bag worth over Rs 2 lakh, allegedly made from animal leather, spiritual preacher and singer Jaya Kishori clarified that the bag contains no leather. In the viral video, she was seen at an airport with a customised "Dior Book Tote" customised with her name.
Addressing her stance on not using leather products, she told news agency ANI, "One does not use brands just by looking at them. You go somewhere and if you like something, you buy it. I have some principles, one of which is that I do not use leather, I have never used it. But if I like something and I can buy that then I buy it... I want to say that you should work hard and earn money so that you can have a good comfortable life for yourself and your family... It is purely a customized fabric bag."
I Have Never Used Leather: Jaya Kishori
Explaining about the material attachment and renounce everything, Jaya Kishori said, "The bag is customised, and there is no leather in it. Customised means you can have it made according to your preference, which is why my name is also written on it. I have never used leather, nor will I ever use it. Those who have attended my discourses know well that I never say everything is illusion or material attachment, nor do I tell people not to earn money or renounce everything."
"Sanatanis have always been on target. I have had this bag for many years. I can take my guarantee, not the company's. I am a normal girl. I am not a saint or a sadhvi. When you go somewhere, if you like something, you buy it. God talks about doing karma, " she added.
Soon after the video surfaced on social media, hatred among people against her compunded. Some netizens claim that Cow hair and unbleached cow skin are also used in leather product. A few of them also criticsed for doing katha parvachan for prolong period of time and learning nothing out of it.