Amid BRICS menu row, former Iceland President recalls serving vegetarian meal to Abdul Kalam

While a controversy has erupted over the all vegetarian menu that was served on Saturday during the BRICS gala dinner, a former Iceland president has recalled a similar meal that former India President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam had during his state visit to the Nordic country.

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson had served as Iceland’s president from 1996 to 2016. Sharing a post on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), Grimsson said he had hosted Kalam in 2005 where he was served an all vegetarian food.

“When I hosted the President of India for state dinner on the first such visit to a Nordic country, I also offered an all-vegetarian menu. More than 20 years ago! And in Iceland where it is not easy to be vegetarian!!” he said.

His post comes amid the row over the all vegetarian that was served at the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for state leaders and representatives during the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. Without naming anyone, senior Congress MP took subtle jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and highlighted that 80 per cent of Indians are non-vegetarians.

“For the record: 80% of Indians are non-vegetarian. Indian non-vegetarian food is delicious. As are my sister’s chole bhature,” Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and represents the Rae Bareli constituency in the Lower House, said on X.

Union Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, however, hit back at the former Congress president and said his party must avoid doing politics over the gala dinner and the food served on this occasion. 

“I can’t believe that Congress party is making politics even on the food menu served to the leaders of BRICS nations. Our guests relished Indian vegetarian cuisine which are rich in flavor and nutritional variety with diverse regional traditions,” he said on X without naming Gandhi. 

During Saturday’s gala dinner, ‘Khandvi mille’, ‘khumb galouti’, ‘paneer lababdar’, ‘gucchi marmik’, ‘carrot bean poriyal’, ‘thakkali belle saaru’, ‘Old Delhi fruit cream with jalebi’, and ‘shahtoot phirni’ were served. The dinner was attended by state leaders and representatives of BRICS members and partner countries.

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‘Doing politics over menu’: Kiren Rijiju vs Rahul Gandhi over all vegetarian food at BRICS gala dinner