Shimla, Dec 14: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Saturday landed in fresh trouble as a video surfaced showing him allegedly being served a red jungle fowl, a bird protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, along with his Cabinet colleague and party leaders, at a dinner hosted by villagers.

The main Opposition BJP has slammed the Chief Minister and demanded an investigation.

It also released the menu that listed red jungle fowl, also known as ‘jangli murga’, the ancestor of the domestic poultry, as one of delicacies.

It is a highly endangered species and is being replaced by genetically-mixed jungle fowl.

However, IANS couldn’t authenticate whether the red jungle fowl was served to the Chief Minister or not. But he was allegedly heard asking others, including ministers and officials, to try it, if they eat non-vegetarian food.

The Chief Minister himself denied that he ate the red jungle fowl. “I didn't eat it, though they were offering it to me,” he said.

The Chief Minister was served the dinner at Tikkar, an interior village in Chopal in Shimla district, where he spent the night after attending a public grievance redressal function on Friday.

However, in the video the Chief Minister was heard saying that “he does not eat it”.

He asked villagers to serve it to his ministerial colleague Dhani Ram Shandil, seated next to him and others. They all were sitting on the floor and eating in a group.

Responding to the development, former Chief Minister and BJP leader Jai Ram Thakur wrote on X, “Those who were having fun with the 'Jan Manch' scheme of going to people's homes to solve their problems are today celebrating picnics in villages and the public is watching what they are doing.”

The latest gastronomical controversy comes close on the heels of the ‘samosa’ row, where an enquiry had been ordered by the CID to trace the missing ‘samosas’ during a function attended by the Chief Minister.

BJP state spokesperson Chetan Bragta claimed that a few days ago the Chief Minister visited the Chaupal Assembly constituency where he was served red jungle fowl.

“The delicacy of red jungle fowl was also published on the menu by the government, this is clearly illegal,” Bragta said, since the red jungle fowl comes under a protected category.

“The video of the Chief Minister going viral on social media clearly shows that the Chief Minister is motivating the government officials and ministers to eat the red jungle fowl,” Bragta said.

He said, “This is also a violation of morality. Himachal Pradesh is Devbhoomi, here wild animals as well as birds are given equal respect and this incident clearly shows how serious the Congress government is in Himachal Pradesh”.

Bragta demanded that the Chief Minister apologise to the people of Devbhoomi for this incident and strict action should be taken against those who are involved in serving it.

“The samosa incident is not over yet and the story of the red jungle fowl has come to the fore,” he said.

“Those who eat protected species are jailed and fined, but the Chief Minister first gets the menu for serving chicken printed and then feeds it to his ministers in front of him with relish,” added former Chief Minister Thakur.

--IANS

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