• Source:JND

Bengal Elections: With just few months remaining in the West Bengal Assembly election, both the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the major opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have commenced their campaigns. The Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led party has accused the BJP of disrespecting the food choices of Bengalis. The ruling party has also cited the orders passed in Bihar regarding curb on sale of non-vegetarian foods, adding that Bengal will receive the same fate. However, the BJP has assured that it will not impose any rule that does not sync with the culture of Bengal.

'BJP Will Not Allow To Sell Fish'

A fresh erupted after the NDA government in Bihar announced a ban on open-air and unlicensed meat sales in urban areas. While reacting to the order, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asserted that she will not allow anyone to ban selling fish and meat in Bengal. "If you vote for them (BJP), they will not allow us to sell fish and meat in the market. I have no problem with those who are vegetarian, but in Bengal you can’t ban selling fish and meat," she said.

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While replying to her remarks, the BJP stated that the sale of non-vegetarian foods in Bengal will not be banned, further accusing the TMC of manipulating the issue. "No such ban exists. No one in Bihar or West Bengal will abide by such a ban. Bengal will have its fish and meat,” said state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya asserted.

However, the ruling party claimed that the BJP over the years has tried to impose a nationwide ban on consuming meat and fish. "First, it was markets near temples. Then open spaces. Now it’s near educational and religious institutions and crowded areas. What we’re witnessing is a creeping nationwide ban on consuming meat and fish," the party alleged, reported the Indian Express.

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"We’ve always defied their narrow, homogenised, monolithic definitions, daring to thrive outside their suffocating box. And what BJP can’t comprehend, they seek to erase. This is precisely what awaits if people trust BJP. Bans on fish and meat, policing our plates, and ultimately our very existence," it added.

While the TMC will try to register a hattrick of victories in the upcoming polls, the BJP will try to form its first government in the state.


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