Vegetarian dishes have become a regular feature of recent INDIA bloc gatherings, with Opposition leaders opting for meat-free menus amid the ongoing Navaratri festival.
On Tuesday, Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi hosted INDIA bloc leaders for tea at his official residence at 5, Sunehri Bagh Road. The menu featured popular vegetarian snacks, including paneer tikka, vegetable sandwiches, samosas, aloo tikki and moong dal halwa. Guests were also offered masala tea, coffee and fresh lime juice.
A senior non-Congress leader said the menu had been carefully selected in view of Navaratri, which has commenced.
The preference for vegetarian food has also been evident at previous Opposition gatherings. On October 7, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hosted a lunch for Opposition lawmakers at Sagar Ratna, a popular South Indian restaurant in Delhi, where the menu included dosa and idli.
The following day, INDIA bloc lawmakers met at Moets restaurant in Connaught Place. Despite the restaurant’s multi-cuisine offerings, the leaders were presented with a menu featuring only vegetarian dishes. According to a senior leader, Rahul Gandhi, who is known to eat non-vegetarian food, was reportedly surprised by the absence of chicken dishes.
Tuesday’s gathering also featured a planned seating arrangement, with senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, CPI(M) chief MA Baby, Trinamool Congress leader Sagarika Ghose and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, seated at the high table. Other Opposition MPs and lawmakers were accommodated in a separate section.
Forward Bloc leader G Devarajan said the meeting focused on discussions about the Opposition’s future roadmap, with decisions communicated to lawmakers after the deliberations.
The gathering followed a week of protests organised by the Congress-led INDIA bloc over demands concerning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The demonstrations included marches towards the Election Commission, Jantar Mantar, Rajghat and Rashtrapati Bhavan.
On October 6, Opposition lawmakers were stopped near Akashvani Bhavan while marching towards the Election Commission. The following day, police halted their march towards Jantar Mantar and detained several leaders. Subsequent demonstrations included a march to Rajghat and another from Parliament towards Rashtrapati Bhavan to submit a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu.
Following the series of protests, the Congress leadership indicated that another major march or demonstration was unlikely to take place immediately. However, the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students’ Union of India could continue organising protests independently.
