Kerala Governor Om Prakash Mathur’s Veg-Only Kitchen Order Sparks Row

Kerala Governor Om Prakash Mathur directed that non-vegetarian food not be prepared or served in the Lok Bhavan kitchen, a move that sparked a political row after Congress leader K C Venugopal accused him of advancing the Sangh Parivar's agenda. The reports surfaced on Thursday, a day before Mathur took office.

Mathur took oath as Keralam's 29th governor. Minutes later, Venugopal, the AICC general secretary and Alappuzha MP, said the move was not just about the governor's diet and it violated individual freedom.

He said Keralam has a diverse food culture and abundant fish resources as a coastal state, and that people there are free to choose vegetarian or non-vegetarian food.

"Any attempt to restrict the food habits Keralites are accustomed to or dictate what they should eat from now on cannot be accepted," Venugopal said, according to PTI. He made those remarks soon after Mathur took the oath as Keralam's 29th governor.

Venugopal said such limits "intrude" on food choices and try to wipe out Keralam's traditional way of life, which he said runs against constitutional rights. He accused the governor of using his office to "curtail" personal freedom rather than protect people's right to choose what they eat and how they live.

"This is a continuation of the unconstitutional interests of the Sangh Parivar. This is the first step towards implementing the saffron agenda of the Sangh Parivar in Keralam," Venugopal alleged.

While acknowledging Mathur's right to follow a vegetarian diet, Venugopal said the governor should not impose his personal preferences on the Lok Bhavan kitchen, whose employees include Keralites. He urged Mathur to withdraw any decision restricting food choices.

Governor Office Response

Officials in the governor's office said Mathur follows a strict vegetarian diet and had ordered that no non-vegetarian dishes be cooked in the kitchen that prepared his meals. They said the kitchen catered only to the governor and a small group of his personal staff.

Officials told PTI that the rest of the staff were free to eat as they wished. Some carried meals from home while others ate outside, and they said no curbs had been placed on their food preferences. They also said earlier governors had seen fish and meat cooked in the Lok Bhavan kitchen.