A protest over what people eat during Durga Puja has now turned into a law-and-order flashpoint in West Bengal, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari directing the Kolkata Police commissioner to arrest those accused of burning photographs of Bageshwar Dham chief priest Dhirendra Krishna Shastri.

The controversy erupted after Shastri appealed to people to avoid cooking or consuming fish and meat during Durga Puja. He also described those who did not follow his appeal as ‘pakhandi’, or fraudulent. 

The comments provoked strong reactions across the state, with protesters objecting to what they viewed as an attempt to interfere with Bengali food habits and cultural traditions.

Addressing the issue on Thursday, Adhikari said religious figures were entitled to speak about their own beliefs and customs, but maintained that opposition to such views could not extend to acts such as burning photographs.

‘A religious leader can express his opinion about his own beliefs, traditions, and culture. Those who accept it will do so. He did not want to impose it on anyone,’ Adhikari said.

The Chief Minister specifically referred to an incident in Bhavanipur, where photographs of Shastri were allegedly burnt in front of a police station.

He said such conduct would not be permitted and instructed the Kolkata Police commissioner to take action against those involved.

‘I saw how many people burned pictures in front of the police station in Bhavanipur. I am telling the CP from here that those people must be arrested. This will not happen in this state,’ Adhikari said.

The remarks have added another political layer to a controversy that began with Shastri's comments on food during one of Bengal's biggest religious festivals.

The issue has resonated particularly strongly because fish and meat occupy an important place in Bengali culinary traditions, including during festive periods.

Adhikari also targeted the Trinamool Congress while speaking about the political backdrop of the controversy, accusing the former ruling party of having relied on what he called appeasement politics.

‘You have practised appeasement politics for a long time, and that is why you are in this situation today,’ he said.

Opposition pushes back

The Chief Minister's call for arrests has drawn criticism from the Opposition, with Congress state president Subhankar Sarkar defending the party's tradition of protest.

Reacting to Adhikari's position, Sarkar said the Congress had historically responded to injustice through resistance and agitation, arguing that repression had not forced its workers to abandon that path.

‘The Indian National Congress has never bowed down to any injustice since its birth. The history of the Congress has been written through protest, resistance and struggle. The Congress has been subjected to repeated atrocities, repression and oppression, yet the Congress soldiers have not deviated from the path of protest,’ Sarkar said in a post.

The issue has also put the BJP's earlier response to Shastri's remarks under renewed scrutiny.

CPI(M) MLA Mustafijur Rahman referred to state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya's earlier reaction to Shastri's appeal, in which Bhattacharya had said the priest was expressing his personal opinion and that no one could dictate what people should eat or wear.

Rahman said Bhattacharya could once again be called upon to explain the BJP's position following Adhikari's latest remarks.

‘Earlier, when that baba humiliated Bengalis, BJP president Samik Bhattacharya had to clarify. After the Chief Minister’s statement, Samik Bhattacharya will have to clarify again,’ Rahman said.

The dispute therefore now spans more than a debate over dietary choices during Durga Puja.

Shastri's original remarks have triggered public protests, while the subsequent burning of his photographs has shifted attention towards the limits of political and public dissent.

At the centre of the dispute is a clash between two competing positions: the right of a religious leader to articulate his own beliefs and the resistance of those who see such statements as an intrusion into Bengal's cultural and culinary identity.

Adhikari's demand for arrests has ensured that the controversy will remain a political and law-and-order issue even as the debate over Shastri's original remarks continues.