More than 95% of the population prefer non-vegetarian food. Under these circumstances, prohibiting non-vegetarian food items on a national holiday is nothing but a direction influenced by the ideology of Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh,” Congress Member of Parliament from Odisha’s Koraput Lok Sabha constituency, Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka said. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Koraput district administration in Odisha has come up with a strange directive banning sale of sale of meat, chicken, fish, egg and other non-vegetarian items on Republic Day on Monday (January 26, 2026) in the entire district.
In an official order directed to all tahsildars, block development officers and all executive officers, Koraput district collector Manoj Satyawan Mahajan instructed, “you are hereby requested to issue an official notification in your jurisdiction prohibiting sale of meat, chicken, fish, egg and other non-vegetarian items on January 26, 2026 for the occasion of 77th Republic Day Celebration in Koraput district.”
Terming the order bizarre, Koraput Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka said, “The bureaucracy has started to match the wavelength of bosses ever since Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in Odisha. January 26 is not a religious occasion, and the instruction is not at all justifiable.”
“Koraput is dominated by the scheduled tribe and the scheduled caste. More than 95% of the population prefer non-vegetarian food. Under these circumstances, prohibiting non-vegetarian food items on a national holiday is nothing but a direction influenced by the ideology of Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh,” said Congress leader Mr. Ulaka.
The directive has not gone down well with general public. “Since January 26 is a holiday, we enjoy a family get-together relishing non-vegetarian food. Children too like the food,” Suresh Kumar Tandi, a resident of Koraput.
The strange order has gone viral on social media. Reacting strongly to the decision, student wing of Biju Janata Dal said, “the BJP Government insults constitutional freedoms by dictating diets, turning Republic Day from celebration of liberty into state-enforced conformity.”
“This collector cannot represent Orissa, where the majority of the population eats fish and meat. Since when did Republic Day 2026 become a religious festival with abstention from meat,” asked senior Supreme Court Lawyer Sanjay Hegde in a post on ‘X’.
Congress leader Amiya Pandav said, “since BJP government came to power, the bureaucracy and ground level worker of the saffron party have become active to impose the Sangh Parivar ideology. Attacks on Muslims and Christians have become the order of the day. Muslim vendors are routinely waylaid and asked not to enter villages.”
Published – January 25, 2026 02:43 am IST
