Amid opposition criticism of the all-vegetarian menu at the BRICS summit, former Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson recalled serving an entirely vegetarian meal to then-President APJ Abdul Kalam during his 2005 state visit to Iceland.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the BRICS leaders for the dinner at Bharat Mandapam on Saturday. “When I hosted the President of India for state dinner on the first such visit to a Nordic country, I also offered an all-vegetarian menu. And in Iceland where it is not easy to be vegetarian!! Grimsson wrote on X. The menu showcased Indian cuisine and featured an array of traditional and contemporary vegetarian dishes.
More than 20 years ago! Grimsson, who served as Iceland’s president from 1996 to 2016, hosted Kalam during his first visit to Iceland and the wider Nordic region.
BJP leader and Union minister Kiren Rijiju lashed out at the Congress for its criticism “I can’t believe that the Congress party is making politics even on the food menu served to the leaders of BRICS nations.
Our guests relished Indian vegetarian cuisine which are rich in flavour and nutritional variety with diverse regional traditions,” Rijiju said.
Congress’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera shared the screenshot of the menu from the dinner and attacked the BJP While Gandhi made no direct reference to the BRICS dinner. “The BJP’s habit of imposing its dietary preferences on fellow Indians is already deeply problematic.
A day after an all-vegetarian spread was served at a BRICS Summit gala dinner, the Congress on Sunday said the BJP is now imposing its “deeply problematic” dietary preferences on dignitaries from across the world, with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi pointing out that 80 per cent of Indians are non-vegetarian. Now, they have taken it a step further by imposing their own choices on dignitaries from across the world,” Khera said on X.
