Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s offer to “cook food” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi elicited mixed responses from political parties, with the BJP terming it a “political agenda” and the CPI(M) dubbing it as an “understanding” between the TMC and the BJP.
Taking a jibe at PM Modi for his recent allegation that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav last month had fish during a period when some Hindus abstain from having non-vegetarian food, Banerjee on Monday said she was ready to “cook something for him (Modi)” if he wanted though she was not sure whether he would eat what she cooked.
Banerjee, at an election rally in Kolkata, had made the remarks while taking a dig at the BJP for allegedly interfering with the food habits of the people and had said she would be happy to cook food for Modi but is not sure “whether the PM will be ready to savour my cooked meal.” “I have been cooking since my childhood days. People have praised my cooking. But will Modi ji accept my food? Will he trust me? I will cook whatever he loves,” she had said.
The TMC supremo had said, “I love both vegetarian foods like dhokla and non-veg foods like macher jhol (fish curry). Different communities, and different sects among Hindus have their own unique rituals and eating habits. Who is BJP to impose a diktat on an individual’s dietary habits? It shows the BJP leadership has little idea and concern about the diversity and inclusivity of India and its people.”
Banerjee’s offer to cook for the PM, who is a vegetarian, drew sharp reactions from the BJP. “Mamata Banerjee wants to feed Modi ji with fish and rice cooked by her. Good proposal. But before that, why doesn’t she first offer pork chop to her lieutenant Firhad Hakim? It will serve three purposes, secularism will be asserted, it will show charity begins at home..,” former BJP state chief and ex-Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy posted on X.
BJP leader Sankudeb Panda claimed Banerjee had deliberately invited Modi knowing well that he is a strict vegetarian. “This is nothing but her ploy to trap the PM. She knows on the one hand the PM will never eat fish or any non-veg item… She is insulting devout Sanatani Hindus,” he added.
Reacting to Banerjee’s comments, CPI(M) leader Bikash Bhattacharya said, “Being dada-bon (brother and sister), Mamata didi can certainly offer to cook meals for the prime minister, do not know if it is to placate him.”
Bhattacharya was referring to the jibe — “Didibhai-Modibhai” — that the Left and the Bengal Congress unit use to refer to the alleged tacit understanding between the BJP and the TMC.
He said such comments in the backdrop of her public posturing against “Modi’s divisive speeches show an apparent contradiction” in what she publicly says and preaches in private.