Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri’s appeal to people in West Bengal to avoid non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja has triggered a political debate, with state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya pushing back against the suggestion.
Bhattacharya said no religious leader or politician should dictate what people in Bengal should eat or wear, stressing that food choices are a matter of individual freedom.
What did Samik Bhattacharya say?
Responding to Shastri’s appeal, Bhattacharya said Bengal has a diverse food culture and people should be free to make their own dietary choices.
“What one eats or wears is a personal choice,” he said, adding that traditional Bengali food includes fish and meat.
Bhattacharya also referred to Swami Vivekananda while defending Bengal’s food habits and questioned whether Bengalis could be expected to give up fish or mutton based on the remarks of a religious figure.
What did Dhirendra Shastri say?
During his visit to Howrah, Dhirendra Shastri appealed to people in Bengal to refrain from eating non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja.
According to the report, Shastri criticised those who consume non-vegetarian food during the festival, describing them as “Pakhandis” or hypocrites.
Bhattacharya said Shastri had every right to advocate vegetarianism but disagreed with the idea of imposing such views on Bengali society.
He also said he did not endorse the use of language that labels people as hypocrites over their food choices.
BJP leader defends Bengali food traditions
Bhattacharya said non-vegetarian food, including fish and goat meat, has traditionally been part of Bengali cuisine and religious practices in some communities.
He pointed to the traditional consumption of kochi patha (goat meat) during Navami and said goat meat is also offered to Maa Kali in some religious traditions.
“I am a political worker. What a sadhu says here or a maulvi says there, what does that have to do with us?” Bhattacharya said.
His comments came as West Bengal prepares for the Durga Puja festivities, when food traditions and religious practices often become part of wider cultural discussions.
Dhirendra Shastri’s Bengal visit takes political turn
Shastri’s religious programmes in West Bengal have also acquired a political dimension amid a dispute over permissions for his events.
His programmes were held under the BJP-led state government after allegations that similar permission had not been granted during the previous Trinamool Congress government.
The latest exchange over food choices has added another layer to the political debate, with the BJP’s state leadership distancing itself from any suggestion that Bengalis should be compelled to change their traditional dietary habits.
