Mutton Politics In Bihar Poll Pot, Tejashwi Yadav Slams NDA Meet Menu

Heated exchanges between the ruling JDU-BJP and the Opposition RJD are keeping the election pot boiling in Bihar, and now mutton politics is on the stove.

Tejashwi Yadav, RJD leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, has shared a video from an NDA meeting at the Assembly in Patna this Monday. The video shows a pot labelled 'Mutton Roganjosh' in the dining area. The Kashmiri delicacy was served on the second Monday (Somvaar) of the Hindu month of Sawan, considered sacred by a section of Hindus, who avoid non-vegetarian food during this month.

Mr Yadav, who has drawn fire from the BJP in the past for eating non-vegetarian food during holy months, targeted the BJP's "selective" politics over food. "With Prime Minister Narendra Modi's blessing, BJP's ministers and MLAs are feasting over mutton on Sawan Somvar."

प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के असीम आशीर्वाद और कृपा से सावन के सोमवारी को दबा कर मटन 🥩 चापते बीजेपी के मंत्री और विधायक।

मोदी जी की कैबिनेट में बिहार से तीन ऐसे मंत्री है जो सावन में भी प्रतिदिन 3 किलो मटन खाते है लेकिन दिखावटी तौर पर सनातन पर लंबा चौड़ा ज्ञान देते है।… pic.twitter.com/NuvuOwEzKy

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) July 21, 2025

The Bihar cabinet, he said, has three ministers who consume 1 kg of mutton daily, but "deliver long speeches on Sanatan". "We have no problem with anyone's food habits, but the Prime Minister is so selective. He is fine with his party leaders eating mutton, but when it comes to Opposition leaders, who do not eat meat during Saawan, he does not hesitate to use lies to turn their food habits into a national issue," Mr Yadav said on X.

Hitting back, BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma asked if Mr Yadav has CCTV footage of who ate what.  "Should he be watching the food counter or working for Bihar's development? Maybe the caterer served both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. What's the fuss?” he asked, according to a report in The Times of India.

Last week, the RJD leader had targeted the NDA and the Prime Minister over JDU leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh -- also known as Lalan Singh -- hosting a mutton party. "We have been called anti-Sanatan by them. The Prime Minister is coming to Bihar tomorrow and will thank Lalan Singh from the stage for arranging a mutton party for his supporters. He is doing a charitable deed," Mr Yadav said.

Earlier, in 2023, the BJP and its allies had slammed the RJD-Congress alliance over visuals of RJD patriarch and veteran politician Lalu Prasad Yadav hosting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for a mutton meal during the month of Saawan.

Targeting RJD and the Congress, the Prime Minister had said the parties in the INDIA alliance don't care about the feelings of most of the country's population.

"During Sawan, they are going to the house of a convicted man and cooking mutton. Not only that, they are also posting videos and teasing the people of the country. The law does not stop anyone from eating anything, and neither does Modi, but their intention is different.

When the Mughals attacked, they were not satisfied with defeating the king alone. They did not get satisfaction until they destroyed temples... they enjoyed doing this. In the same way, by uploading the video in the month of Sawan, they (the opposition) are exhibiting the thoughts of the Mughal era, attempting to tease people and fortify their vote bank," he had alleged.

The BJP had also tried food politics against Mr Yadav just before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when it accused the RJD leader of eating fish during Navratri. Mr Yadav had responded that the video, which showed him and Vikassheel Insaan Party chief Mukesh Sahni, was shot a day before Navratri.