Bengal BJP chief rejects Bageshwar Baba's no ‘non-veg’ appeal: ‘How can Bengalis not have fish and meat?’ | India News

West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Samik Bhattacharya on Monday reacted to Madhya Pradesh-based religious leader Bageshwar Baba's appeal for state residents to become vegetarians during Durga Puja."How can Bengalis not have fish and meat? Even Swami Vivekananda said Ma Kali will have mutton (as an offering). It is dangerous if someone tries to rise above Vivekananda. This is his personal opinion," Bhattacharya said, without naming the 30-year-old Dhirendra Krishna Garg, the chief priest of Bageshwar Dham and popularly called Bageshwar Baba.The religious leader was in West Bengal to attend a three-day Hanumant Katha at Liluah in Howrah district. On Saturday, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari hosted a dinner for him at Soujanya, a state auditorium. The dinner was attended by Cabinet ministers and ministers of state. The CM's office posted photos of the event on X on Sunday, referring to the religious leader as "Bageswar Maharaj."On Sunday, while addressing the Liluah event, Bageshwar Baba said, "Please don't mind but there is something I don't like about West Bengal. During Navratri and Durga Puja non-vegetarian food is consumed near the pandals. All sorts of dirty food are prepared."Also Read | Bengal may ban mobile phones in schools, says CM Suvendu Adhikari"I want every Hindu to wake up during the coming Navratri and expel those people. They are not pious. They are sacrilegious," he added.The video went viral, triggering a strong reaction among Bengali Hindus. The development took place days after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad said on August 26 that non-vegetarian food should be kept away from Durga Puja pandals.The controversy over food habits returned to haunt the BJP four months after its leaders had to either campaign with fish or consume it publicly to counter the then-ruling Trinamool Congress's campaign that Bengalis would be forced to become vegetarians if the BJP came to power.Bhattacharya said on Monday his party would never issue any diktat. "We have nothing to say on what people will eat and wear in West Bengal. Bengalis will do what they are used to. Those who want to wear dhoti will do so. Those preferring lungi will wear lungi. How can Bengalis not have fish? The thing is going on and on. Why bother about what somebody from outside comes here and says?" Bhattacharya said."There is nothing wrong with someone appealing people to become vegetarian. There is a campaign on vegetarianism. Many people and even some doctors suggest it. But how can a sadhu or a political party tell you what you are going to eat at home? He is respected and popular across the nation. He has made an appeal," he added.Also Read | 'Sing four stanzas of Vande Mataram': TMC's big challenge to Suvendu Adhikari and BJPPosts have appeared on X and Facebook, criticising Bageshwar Baba for trying to dictate terms to Bengali Hindus."West Bengal has its own brand of very assertive Hindutva. It is the birthplace of Hindu nationalism. It is also the seat of Shakta worship. So, Bageshwar Dham’s appeal against non-veg around Durga Puja pandals is ill-informed, unwarranted, and won’t wash," journalist and author Abhijit Majumdar wrote on X.A faux pas also caught the state administration on the wrong foot on Monday when a digital poster circulated by the Kolkata Police for the CM's meeting with community Durga Puja organisers during the day was found to have an image of Goddess Durga with 11 hands instead of 10."The changes BJP promised to bring in Bengal in 2026 have not spared even Ma Durga. The image circulated by the government shows her having an eleventh hand Hindus never knew about," Kunal Ghosh, a TMC MLA from the Mamata Banerjee camp said.Bhattacharya said the advertising agency entrusted with preparing the poster made an error. "The advertising agency made the error. It will be corrected for sure," he said.