Kerala Governor’s Vegetarian Kitchen Order Draws Criticism

Kerala Governor Om Prakash Mathur directed the kitchen preparing his meals at Lok Bhavan to serve only vegetarian food, prompting criticism from Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders. Lok Bhavan sources said the instruction reflected Mathur’s personal diet and did not restrict employees’ food choices. The reported order came shortly after Mathur assumed office as Kerala’s 29th governor on October 23, according to the state Information Public Relations Department. Accounts attributed to Lok Bhavan sources said the kitchen prepared meals for Mathur and a few members of his personal staff. A note attributed to his Additional Private Secretary, S. Sreekumar, described meals for Mathur, his family, relatives and guests. The sources said other employees could bring food from home or eat elsewhere, and that their personal food choices were not restricted. They also said fish and meat had been prepared in the kitchen during some previous governors’ tenures. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal criticized the reported instruction, arguing that Mathur should not impose his personal preferences on others. He said food choices were an individual freedom and alleged...