VHP’s Durga Puja food guidelines spark political row in West Bengal

The Vishva Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) guidelines urging Durga Puja organisers in West Bengal to restrict the sale and consumption of non-vegetarian food near pandals have sparked a political row. While JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak welcomed the move but questioned its impact on traditional animal sacrifices, Congress leader Udit Raj rejected the VHP’s authority to dictate dietary practices.

New Delhi:  The set of guidelines issued by the right-wing outfit Vishva Hindu Parishad on Durga Puja celebrations in West Bengal has triggered a political debate, with leaders from the JD(U), Congress and other parties expressing contrasting views on the organisation’s ‘command’ to restrict the sale and consumption of non-vegetarian food in and around puja pandals.

Reacting to the VHP’s guidelines, JD(U) National General Secretary Shyam Rajak said stopping the sale of meat and fish during Durga Puja was a positive step, but raised questions about how the guidelines would apply to traditional animal sacrifices performed during the festival.

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“It is a good thing that the sale of meat and fish is stopped during Durga Puja. However, one concern is that people perform animal sacrifices during Durga Puja, and animal sacrifice is also part of certain traditions and religious practices. When such sacrifices take place, what will happen to the meat? Will people be allowed to use it or not?” Rajak said.

He urged the VHP to consider the issue and said that if the organisation wanted to regulate the sale of meat and fish, it should first appeal to religious communities to end the practice of animal sacrifice.

The VHP’s position received support from Upasana Arora, President of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Indraprastha Province.

Speaking in Delhi, Arora said she viewed the guidelines positively and described them as consistent with traditional practices associated with Durga Puja.

“I see this in a very positive way because, ever since I can remember, from my childhood, I have seen that during Durga Puja, people generally stop consuming meat and alcohol in their homes. I do not even allow onions into my home during these days,” she said.

Arora added that she considered such practices part of Indian culture and said the VHP had a responsibility to preserve and promote those values.

Congress leader Udit Raj, however, strongly opposed the VHP’s demand, questioning the organisation’s authority to issue such guidelines.

“Who are they to prescribe what people should do? Are they elected representatives? They are goons and miscreants, and they create a wrong narrative. What someone eats and what someone gets to eat is a constitutional right. They have no right to issue any circular on this,” Raj said.

Notably, the VHP had issued its guidelines on Friday ahead of Durga Puja in Bengal, urging organisers to return to traditional practices and ensure that non-vegetarian food is neither sold nor consumed in and around puja pandals.

The organisation clarified that it was not seeking a blanket ban on non-vegetarian food during the festival, acknowledging that Durga Puja in Bengal has historically not been strictly vegetarian. However, it stressed that the sanctity of the goddess’s idol should be maintained and that the idol should remain free from contact with non-vegetarian food.

The guidelines have consequently sparked a wider discussion over religious traditions, dietary choices, cultural practices and the role of organisations in regulating activities around religious celebrations in public.