Kerala’s New Vegetarian Governor Sparks Political Debate With Congress
With BJP veteran Om Prakash Mathur taking charge as the Kerala Governor, the ruling Congress has found political ammo in his kitchen, taking exception to his directive that only vegetarian food be cooked at Lok Bhavan.
Mathur, a former Rajya Sabha member, became the Sikkim Governor in July 2024 and will now succeed Rajendra Arlekar in Kerala. Arlekar has been appointed as the governor of Tamil Nadu.
Mathur has directed that only vegetarian food be cooked in the Lok Bhavan kitchen. In response, AICC general secretary (organisational affairs) K C Venugopal said, “Kerala has a diverse food culture, and people of the state have always enjoyed the freedom to have vegetarian or non-vegetarian food. Any move to restrict food habits or a directive on what they should eat cannot be accepted. Such a directive violates the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The governor-designate is trying to usurp individual freedom using his power.”
Venugopal said the decision is a continuation of the unconstitutional agenda of the Sangh Parivar. “The Governor can follow his own dietary choices. However, a directive restricting the functioning of the Lok Bhavan kitchen to accommodate his personal preferences alone cannot be accepted,” he said.
Lok Bhavan sources, however, called it a non-issue. “The governor has every right to decide what should be cooked in his kitchen. Who calls the shots in Venugopal’s kitchen,” quipped one official.
“The Lok Bhavan kitchen is meant for cooking food for the governor. Staff do not take food from there; they either bring food from home or eat out. The governor’s kitchen is exclusively to cater to his dietary needs, and the newly appointed governor is vegetarian.”
Lok Bhavan sources also said the governor is entitled to bring his own cook. The former governor, Arlekar, had a cook from Goa to prepare dishes of his home state.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan, who maintained a cordial relationship with the Lok Bhavan during Arlekar’s tenure, has not reacted to the development. In official programmes hosted by the Lok Bhavan earlier, Satheesan had okayed rendering the Vande Mataram in its entirety, indicating a conciliatory approach.
On the other hand, Venugopal has been critical of issues where the Satheesan government has ostensibly been soft on the BJP.
This isn’t the first row over food that the state has witnessed – in 2017, when the BJP-led Centre introduced new regulations on the sale of cattle, Kerala led the protest, including beef festivals conducted by both Congress and the CPI(M).
