Billboard with Goddess Durga beside pot of biryani sparks row in Hooghly
A billboard in West Bengal featuring Goddess Durga alongside a pot of biryani has sparked controversy, with local BJP leaders demanding its removal for hurting religious sentiments. The incident occurs amid broader tensions regarding the consumption of non-vegetarian food during the Durga Puja festival.
Why it matters
The incident reflects ongoing cultural and political debates in India regarding religious sensitivity, public advertising, and the intersection of food habits with religious identity.
A billboard of a biryani outlet featuring an image of Goddess Durga next to a pot of biryani has sparked a controversy in West Bengal's Hooghly, with a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA alleging it had hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus.
The poster was placed outside a high-rise residential complex in Uttarpara's Hindmotor area. It featured a Bengali tagline that translates to ‘Devotion to the Goddess this puja... rockstar flavour’.
A group of locals gathered in front of the poster on Sunday (October 11, 2026), questioning who had authorised the use of the goddess's image alongside a non-vegetarian dish, a police official said. The shopkeeper was later asked to remove all such posters, the official said.
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