Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 03:20pm on 07 Sep 2026,Monday Politics
West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya rejected preacher Dhirendra Shastri’s appeal for Bengalis to avoid non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja. Shastri, known as Bageshwar Baba, urged people to abstain from meat and called those continuing their regular diet heretics. Bhattacharya defended Bengal’s longstanding culinary and religious traditions, citing goat meat offerings to Goddess Kali and customary dishes such as luchi on Ashtami and goat meat on Navami. He said individuals may offer personal dietary advice, but such views cannot be imposed as societal rules. Bhattacharya also invoked Swami Vivekananda’s legacy and said Shastri’s remarks were not the BJP’s stance. The state BJP unit, he said, does not support a blanket vegetarian mandate.
