New Delhi: The political debate over the BRICS summit has moved from the negotiation table to the dinner plate, with the BJP launching a stinging rebuttal against the Congress party for making the summit's vegetarian menu a political talking point.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju expressed incredulity on social media platform X, saying he could not believe the Congress party was reducing the BRICS gathering — a major diplomatic event for India — to a controversy over food choices. "Our guests enjoyed the Indian vegetarian meal, which was rich in taste and nutrition and reflected traditions from different regions of India," Rijiju posted, adding that the Congress approach was disappointing.
BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi went further, accusing Congress of deliberately ignoring India's diplomatic successes at the summit to focus on the dinner menu. "Congress has chosen to talk about the dinner menu instead of India's achievements at BRICS. This is hilarious and shameful," Trivedi said. He added that the attitude of Congress leaders proved they were merely "sulking uncles" unable to accept India's global standing.
The controversy traces back to Rahul Gandhi's post on X late on Sunday, where he wrote that 80 per cent of Indians are non-vegetarian and that Indian non-vegetarian cuisine is extremely tasty — a clear reference to the all-vegetarian fare served at the summit dinner. Congress leaders had earlier criticized the government for imposing its own dietary preferences on foreign dignitaries.
The BRICS dinner was hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday evening at Bharat Mandapam. The menu exclusively featured Indian vegetarian dishes, including paneer with dry vegetables, beetroot raita, Gujarati khakhra, millet pulao, a Kashmiri mushroom preparation, and a dessert of fruit cream with jalebi. Guests were served on special silver-plated crockery brought from Jaipur. Union ministers and several state chief ministers were also invited to the event.
Political observers say the row highlights the continuing friction between the BJP and Congress ahead of upcoming electoral battles, with both sides using every available platform to score points.
