A reported vegetarian-only policy for the kitchen at Keralam’s Lok Bhavan has drawn opposition criticism, while statements about staff meals leave its reach at official functions unsettled.
Om Prakash Mathur assumed office as Keralam’s 29th governor on Oct. 23, the state government’s Information & Public Relations Department said. NDTV Profit and The New Indian Express reported that Mathur had directed the kitchen to stop preparing non-vegetarian food. The state profile and Lok Bhavan’s swearing-in announcement confirm his appointment and ceremony but do not mention a food directive.
Kerala Kaumudi reproduced a Facebook note it attributed to S. Sreekumar, the Governor’s Additional Private Secretary. The note said the kitchen prepared meals for Mathur, his family, relatives and guests, while employees could bring food from home or buy it elsewhere. “There is no prohibition on them bringing food from home or buying it from outside,” the note attributed to Sreekumar said.
Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal criticized the reported instruction, saying food choices were personal, The New Indian Express reported. M.V. Govindan, state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), also criticized the move, the newspaper said.
The Telegraph cited an unnamed Lok Bhavan source who said the kitchen was also used for functions and future events would not serve non-vegetarian food. Sreekumar’s note lists meals for Mathur’s family, relatives and guests but does not discuss official functions, so it does not establish whether the reported instruction applies to those events.
Press Trust of India, citing Lok Bhavan sources, reported that the kitchen had prepared food for Mathur and a few personal staff. The sources also said fish and other non-vegetarian dishes had been prepared there during some previous governors’ tenures, without naming them.
