Indian President Droupadi Murmu hosted Vietnamese President To Lam at a State banquet in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday, with Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and several Union ministers in attendance. But it was not the event itself that caught the internet’s attention, it was the menu that was served to the guest.
The vegetarian banquet spread, which included bajra khichdi, matar chawal and gajar matar sabzi, drew a torrent of mockery online, with users questioning why a foreign head of state was being served what many described as everyday household meals.
“Might taste good but all are mundane everyday meals. Matar chawal, bajra khichdi, gajar matar sabzi. You’d expect foreign dignitaries to be served more elevated, refined cuisine,” one social media user remarked.
Others went further. “A poor man gives better food in his home than this menu,” one person noted. Another quipped that the Vietnamese president “would never come back or get excited about Indian cuisine” after a meal like this, while another suggested he would “definitely order KFC while reaching the hotel”.
Several users pointed to the absence of any meat on the menu as a deliberate political choice. “Why is the government so keen to project India as a vegetarian state when 80% Indians eat meat and fish,” one user stressed. Another added that the government and RSS-backed Hindutva politics had made it a point to serve no meat-based options to any guests.
One user drew a political reading from the menu itself. “It is really shameful that even the President’s banquet menu is not politics free and is used as an appeasement vote-seeking tool, keeping in mind the upcoming state elections — case in point the Punjab-dominated menu here given the next big elections are there,” the user observed.
The choice of bajra (a millet grain) drew particular attention given Vietnam’s culinary identity. “Vietnamese people are as carnivorous as they come. Here we are imposing our food habits on them,” one person told his followers, adding that the guests would likely return to their hotel and order something else.
“The Vietnamese statesman surely would have loved some Amritsari fish tikka or rara chicken. Instead he got this famine diet,” another user remarked.
Some also questioned President Murmu’s own background in the context of the menu. “Madam President is from Odisha. Is she a vegetarian or being forced to be one? Odiya people usually have fish and meat. Such a depressing menu,” one user wrote.
A Pakistani added to the pile-on. “In Pakistan it is kind of an insult to offer such dishes to guests. One more reason to thank Quaid Jinnah,” the user noted.
“Eating bajra in May heat is scary. The foreigners will have a tough time digesting it,” another user observed.
