LUCKNOW: At a time when most Hindus forget about non-veg food during Shrawan, fish has acquired political currency in UP.What began with cabinet minister and Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad declaring that ‘fish cooked without garlic and onion could be considered vegetarian’ has now landed at the centre of a political row over a fish feast at a Congress event in Ayodhya.Nishad had made the claim earlier this month, saying, “Bina lahsun-pyaz ki bani machhli shakahari hai.”Coming in Shrawan, a month when many Hindu devotees observe dietary restrictions, the remark was bound to attract attention. But there was more to it than a debate over what goes into a plate.Nishad represents a community traditionally associated with rivers, fishing and boating, making food habits an important part of its social and cultural identity.The Nishad vote is also electorally significant in UP, with the community spread across many assembly constituencies.Not surprisingly, both BJP and opposition parties have been keen to cultivate this constituency.Then came Ayodhya. On Sunday, fish was cooked at a Congress meeting organised to welcome UP Congress president Ajay Rai.A video of the fish being prepared at the venue surfaced on social media, giving BJP an opportunity to turn what might otherwise have remained a local menu choice into a larger question of faith and religious sentiment.The timing and setting added to the optics. Rai had visited Hanumangarhi earlier in the day, recited Hanuman Chalisa and offered prayers at Ram temple before attending the meeting.BJP, predictably, took the fish by the tail.On Sunday, state president Pankaj Choudhary termed the alleged feast “highly condemnable and unforgivable”, accusing Congress of hurting Sanatan sentiments.CM Yogi Adityanath took it forward. “…even a chameleon would be embarrassed by this kind of behaviour… It would wonder what kind of human species this is — chanting ‘Ram-Ram’ inside the temple and feasting on fish the moment they step out,” he said referring to the incident at a public event in Rae Bareli.Defending the event, Rai said it was organised by members of the Nishad community, for whom fish was an important part of their food culture. “Where is the proof that I violated Sanatan tradition? I am ready to resign if found guilty… but will UP CM resign if he is not able to prove the allegation?”On Monday, cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar entered the waters too.Asked about Nishad’s fish-as-vegetarian claim, he backed his cabinet colleague — but also tossed Congress a question.“Woh (Sanjay Nishad) keh rahe hain to sahi keh rahe honge. Machhli non-veg nahi hogi. Congress se poochhna chahiye ki pyaz-lahsun daal kar banaya tha ya bina milaye,” he said.Yet, when asked how fish could be called vegetarian, Rajbhar seemed happy to leave that expertise to Nishad.“Sanjay Nishad machhli ke mahir hain, unhe zyada jaankari hai, hum thode kam hain,” he said.Reacting to the hullabaloo, political commentator Prof Sushil Pandey of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, said: “The fish may be on the menu, but the real item on the political table is the Nishad votes. The controversy shows how food can become a political marker when it intersects with faith and community identity. In an election-bound Uttar Pradesh, the question is not merely what is being served, but who is being served politically.”
