Kerala governor faces row on first day in office over reported ban on non-veg food at Lok Bhavan

Keralam Governor Om Prakash Mathur came under fire from the Congress and the CPI(M), his first day in office, following reports that he had instructed the Lok Bhavan kitchen to prepare exclusively vegetarian meals.

A section of the media said that Mathur had directed that non vegetarian delicacies should not be prepared or served in the Lok Bhavan kitchen. The reports came up in the local media on Thursday, reported news agency PTI.

Mathur assumed office as the 29th Governor of Keralam at a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan here on Friday. He succeeds Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who has been appointed Governor of Tamil Nadu.

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Congress criticises move

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal took aim at Mathur over the move, alleging that the reported order was driven by Sangh Parivar’s "unconstitutional interests”.

He argued that imposing such a restriction on the governor’s official residence was an overreach. He highlighted Keralam’s diverse culinary traditions, noting that the state’s coastal geography supports a thriving fishing industry. Residents, he said, have the right to choose between vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets as per preference.

"Any attempt to restrict the food habits Keralites are accustomed to or dictate what they should eat from now on cannot be accepted," he said.

Restrictions that "intrude" into food choices and seek to erase the traditional way of life of Keralites violate the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, the Alappuzha Lok Sabha MP alleged.

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He alleged that a person holding a constitutional office, who was duty-bound to protect the right to decide what to eat and how to live, was insisting that others follow his own food habits.

"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," he remarked.

CPI(M) also opposes the reported directive

Home minister Ramesh Chennithala also opposed the reported decision, asserting that food habits should be left to individual discretion rather than imposed by others. Addressing the media, he emphasised that people must be free to make their own choices. “Let us eat what we want to eat," he said.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference, CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan objected to the reported restriction, stressing that dietary choices were a matter of individual freedom.

“Attempts are being made to take away this right. Behind these efforts is the Sangh Parivar agenda of communal polarisation," he said.

Keralam Lok Bhavan responds

Lok Bhavan officials, quoted by PTI, said the instructions stemmed from governor Om Prakash Mathur’s personal dietary habits, noting that he was a strict vegetarian and wanted the kitchen used for his meals to prepare vegetarian food alone. They clarified that means cooked there were intended for the governor and a small group of staff.

Other Lok Bhavan employees were free to arrange their own means, either by bringing food from home or purchasing it from outside, and had not been asked to change their eating habits, the sources said.