CHANDIGARH: Another controversy has hit the Congress-led Himachal Pradesh Government, as Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu allegedly encouraged his associates to eat grey jungle fowl (jungli murga) which is an endangered species at Kupvi village in the Chopal area of the Shimla district, where the CM spent last night with the villagers.
Thus the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded an apology and action against those responsible, but Sukhu said "Opposition has no issues left to raise.’’
Sources said that Chief Minister Sukhu attended a dinner in this village where the menu included food with wild chicken, bichu booti (a local herb), and slices of bread made from maize and wheat.
Sukhu did not eat chicken but state health minister Col (Retd) Dhani Ram Shandil ate it as he and other guests were served.
The incident snowballed into a political controversy following a purported viral video showing Sukhu's remarks about the dish, potentially breaching wildlife protection laws.
As one can hear the CM saying that he does not eat it, he asked the villagers to serve it to his ministerial colleague Shandil the state Health minister, seated next to him and others while sitting on the floor and eating with everyone.
The BJP leaders shared the purported video of the dinner and pointed out that item number 12 in the dinner was Junglee Murga or Jungle Fowl.
Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jairam Thakur accused the CM of not only having the dish featured on the dinner menu but also encouraging his associates to eat it.
He alleged that jungle fowl a protected bird species was served as part of the meal to CM Sukhu.
Sharing a purported video of the dinner on social media platform X, he accused the state government of organizing picnics at the expense of the state exchequer. "People who consume protected species of wild chicken are penalized with fines and jail time. However, the Chief Minister gets menus printed to serve chicken and then enjoys watching his ministers relish it right in front of him. Is this what you call a system change? #Government_On_Village_Picnic #2_Years_of_System_Deterioration,” he said in the post.
Thakur said that those who had objections to serving of “phulkas” at the Jan Manch programme during the BJP rule are today relishing “jungle murga”.
Another BJP leader Chetan Bragta said that the CM should apologize. "Jungli Murga (Grey Jungle fowl) is an endangered species listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2022. Hunting and eating this species is illegal,” he said.
CM Sukhu said that eating non-vegetarian food is a way of life in villages and accused the opposition leaders of making an issue out of it.
"The villagers served the chicken for dinner, but I refused as I do not eat it and now Jai Ram Thakur is making an issue out of it,’’ he said and emphasized his health-motivated decision to avoid non-vegetarian and oily foods.
I do not eat oily and non-vegetarian food due to health reasons, said Sukhu and added that opposition leaders have no real issue and are merely trying to tarnish the image of the villagers.
This new controversy comes close on the heels of the samosa controversy, where an inquiry had been ordered by the CID wing of the police to trace the missing samosas during a function attended by the Chief Minister.
Despite being an endangered species, hunting and eating the Grey Junglefowl, which is considered delicious, is reportedly a common practice in rural areas of the state, particularly during the winter months.