Suvendu eats fish offering at Kalighat temple amidst Bageshwar Baba row
“On the sacred occasion of Kaushiki Amavasya, Chief Minister Shri @SuvenduWB offered prayers to Maa Kali at Kalighat and, following the temple’s traditional customs, partook of the sacred bhog of pulao and fish,” the West Bengal BJP said on social media, sharing the video
During a recent controversy involving a religious preacher in Madhya Pradesh who advocated for vegetarian food for Bengali Hindus during Durga Puja, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari chose to partake in the traditional fish and pulao bhog at Kolkata’s Kalighat temple on September 10, 2026. The video of the Chief Minister consuming the meal was widely shared on social media platforms, including by West Bengal BJP.
The BJP highlighted that during Kaushiki Amavasya, Suvendu Adhikari offered prayers at Kalighat and followed the temple’s customs by taking the sacred bhog of pulao and fish.
The situation arose after Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, also known as Bageshwar Baba, had urged Bengalis to refrain from consuming non-vegetarian food during the pujas on September 6. In an event held at Liluah in Howrah, Shastri expressed his appeal to Hindus of Bengal not to sell non-veg near the idols of Goddess Kali. Subsequently, West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya strongly disagreed with the preacher, stating that Bengalis should not abandon non-vegetarian food.
Bhattacharya referred to Swami Vivekananda's perspective, asserting that it would be perilous for anyone to deviate from his teachings.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari defended Shastri, ordering the police to arrest those protesting against the religious preacher. On September 11, a Congress leader was arrested for setting fire to photographs of the Madhya Pradesh religious preacher. The Chief Minister's statement in the State Assembly on September 10 emphasized that individuals could choose whether to accept or reject Shastri's views, adding that Shastri had not imposed any beliefs on anyone.
Several leaders from the West Bengal BJP, including the State unit president and several ministers, maintained that there was no necessity to abandon non-vegetarian food. The tradition of offering and consuming non-vegetarian food during the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal has been ongoing for a considerable period.
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