BJP seeks FIR against Congress, SP over posts on Nabin’s food

The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has filed a complaint with police seeking an FIR against the Congress, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and unidentified social media accounts.

The BJP accused them of spreading false claims that national president Nitin Nabin consumed non-vegetarian food during his visit to Andhra Pradesh. The complaint, addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central District, was submitted on Wednesday and signed by Delhi BJP leaders Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Vishnu Mittal and Sanket Gupta.

According to the complaint, videos and photographs of Nabin were circulated during his recent visit to Andhra Pradesh, showing him eating what the party described as a traditional local dish called Panasa Mukkalu, which it said was entirely vegetarian.

The BJP alleged that certain individuals and social media accounts falsely claimed Nabin was consuming non-vegetarian food during the Hindu month of Shravan, also known as Sawan, a period during which many Hindus follow vegetarian dietary practices. The party termed these claims false, misleading and politically motivated.

The complaint named the Samajwadi Party’s media handle and the Indian National Congress’s Chhattisgarh unit as having shared posts referencing the visit, and included links to two posts on the social media platform X in support of its claims.

The BJP said the claims were designed to portray a vegetarian dish as non-vegetarian, and alleged this amounted to a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and hurt religious sentiments during a period considered significant by Hindu communities.

The party has sought registration of a case under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including provisions relating to acts intended to outrage religious feelings, defamation, statements conducing to public mischief, and criminal conspiracy. It has also asked authorities to examine the applicability of provisions under the Information Technology Act, depending on the outcome of the investigation.

In its complaint, the BJP asked police to identify the original source of the claims, preserve digital evidence including screenshots, videos, metadata and account details, and take action against those found responsible. The party said it had enclosed screenshots of the posts in question as supporting evidence.

The complaint does not name specific individuals from the Congress or the Samajwadi Party, but seeks action against “senior leaders” of both parties along with unidentified persons and organisations allegedly involved in circulating the claims. Neither the Congress nor the Samajwadi Party has issued a response to the BJP’s complaint so far. Police have not confirmed whether an FIR has been registered in connection with the complaint. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central District, is yet to comment on the matter.

The dispute stems from social media posts referencing Nabin’s visit to Andhra Pradesh, where he was seen at an event involving local cuisine, according to material accompanying the BJP’s complaint.