A fresh political row engulfs Bihar’s meat and fish sales restriction, with TMC MLA Narayan Goswami branding it BJP’s ploy to erode Bengal’s heritage. From Barasat, the Ashoknagar representative slammed the party on February 19, tying the ban to PM Modi’s controversial prefixing of ‘Swami’ to Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa.
Mamata Banerjee’s vocal dissent positions the issue as a cornerstone for Bengal’s assembly polls, portraying BJP as threats to regional ethos. ‘Our food culture—fish and rice—is under siege,’ Goswami thundered. ‘BJP power in Bengal would outlaw it all.’ He vowed intelligent Bengalis would teach them a lesson, rejecting the assault on traditions.
Addressing Modi’s nomenclature slip, Goswami shrugged it off as poll-season pandering. BJP top brass, irked by Bengal’s forward-thinking ethos and its outsized Nobel contributions (five out of six Indians), are invoking sages in vain, he said. The state’s talent pool incites their suppression tactics.
Forecasting doom, Goswami remarked BJP clinging to 50% of 2021 votes would be a win. References to Vivekananda, Paramhansa, or Chaitanya are futile gestures, he concluded. With stakes soaring, this controversy blends culinary pride and spiritual sensitivities, potentially swaying Bengal’s electorate in dramatic fashion.