Amid the ongoing controversy over the closing down of meat shops during Navratra days in south Delhi, TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday tweeted that the Constitution allowed her the right to eat meat in the same way it allowed shopkeepers the freedom to run their trade.
“I live in South Delhi. The Constitution allows me to eat meat when I like and the shopkeeper the freedom to run his trade. Full stop,” tweeted the MP, known for her witty comments and sharp speeches in parliament.
Food choices and dietary habits too seem to have become a part of the polarised politics in the country. The recent decision of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to ‘ban’ the sale of non-vegetarian food during the nine days of Navratri festival has triggered a nationwide controversy over the issue.
An IANS-CVoter survey reveals interesting differences in responses from supporters of different political parties, though a surprising majority of the respondents seem to support the restrictions imposed on the sale of meat during the duration of the holy festival.
As many as 61 per cent of the respondents in the nationwide survey said they approved of the decision to restrict the sale of meat during Navratri, while a little more than 28 per cent disagreed with the proposition. Just about 10 per cent of the respondents said they had no opinion on the matter.
The surprising revelation was that large sections of both BJP and AAP supporters seemed to approve the restrictions, while most Congress supporters were in disapproval.
A narrow majority of respondents (50.5 pert cent) also disagreed with the proposition that such bans and restrictions were not constitutional as they went against free choice.
Similarly, close to 54 per cent of the respondents were of the opinion that the decision was intended to target the Muslim community, while close to 47 per cent of the Congress supporters felt the decision did target the Muslim community.