Eating or clothing a personal choice, can't be dictated: Bengal BJP chief

Kolkata, Sep 7 (AHN) West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Samik Bhattacharya said on Monday that what one eats or wears is a personal choice and such a choice must remain personal.

Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of an event, Bhattacharya added that no one has the right to decide what one should eat.

"What one eats or wears is a personal choice. Bengal's food culture is diverse, and everyone has the freedom to follow their own preferences. Bengalis won't have fish or mutton? Even Swami Vivekananda approved of it. No saint, leader or anyone else has the right to decide what you should eat. Personal choice must remain personal," he said.

The reaction from the BJP leader came days after a nationally popular religious guru said that non-vegetarian food should be kept away from Durga puja mandaps and during Navratri.

Speaking on the issue, Bhattacharya said, "Bengalis eat mutton on Navami. And on Ashtami they eat luchi. That's what they eat. And the religious guru is a person from another world. He has many devotees, he has devotees all over the country. I also went to meet him. There is a special glow on his face. I bowed down before him. He made me wear a veil. But he has no right to say what Bengalis should eat or not. He can say what he wants. But whether we accept it or not is up to us."

The BJP Rajya Sabha MP also said, "Whether Bengalis will give importance or not is their business. Now many people are campaigning for vegetarianism. Doctors are also saying so. But will a saint decide what you eat in your house? Will a political party decide? Will Bengalis not eat meat? Will they not eat fish? Swami Vivekananda had approved this. It is still dangerous to rise above Swami Vivekananda. That religious guru has only appealed. It is for us to decide what we will do."