TMC leaders feast on poha to protest Vijayvargiya's remark

Kolkata, Jan 25 (IANS) The women brigade of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) here on Saturday had a feast of poha (flattened rice) in protest against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kailash Vijayvargiya's linking the food to Bangladeshi infiltrators.

The women leaders, including two Ministers, had dadhikarma (a dish in which poha is a key ingredient and is consumed on auspicious occasions) in the bustling Dharamtala area.

Targeting Vijavargiya, Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya said, "We are all having poha. Thus, according to Kailashbabu we are all Bangladeshis. We have no problem with that. Poha is a health food."

Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Minister Shashi Karma, a doctor, was seen serving dadhikarma to the party workers as well as journalists.

Lok Sabha member Mala Roy, said, "Poha is considered auspicious. He (Vijayvargiya) has lost his senses. Commoners consume poha. It shows they have no connect with the common people."

Party workers also held posters reading: "No CAA, No NRC, No NPR".

Vijayvargiya, in Indore on Thursday, had claimed labourers who recently carried out construction work at his house could be Bangladeshis as they had "strange" eating habits and they ate only 'poha'. "When a room was being added to the house, I found eating habits of some workers 'strange' as they ate only 'poha'," he said.

To confirm his suspicion, the BJP leader claimed that he spoke to the supervisor. "I suspected them being Bangladeshis and two days after that they stopped working at my house. I have not filed any police complaint yet. I only mentioned this incident to warn people," he said.

Vijayvargiya's comments led to howls of protest from his opponents. It sparked off a debate on Twitter with many users stating consumption of 'poha' couldn't be a yardstick for someone's nationality.