“Supposed to eat dhoklas?” Mahua Moitra slams BJP over fish market row in Delhi’s CR Park

A political storm has erupted in Delhi’s Chittaranjan Park after Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting Bengali fish sellers, claiming the party is trying to control not just business locations but also personal food choices.

The controversy began after Moitra shared a video on Tuesday allegedly showing BJP workers threatening fish vendors near a temple in CR Park. In the footage, a man wearing a saffron shirt can be heard stating that the presence of a fish market next to a temple "hurts religious sentiments" and violates "Sanatana Dharma".

Reacting sharply, Moitra slammed the BJP for allegedly telling people to "eat dhoklas and chant Jai Shri Ram thrice a day", adding, “Is the BJP going to dictate where we shop and what we eat?” She further alleged that BJP members were "terrorising Hindu shopkeepers", calling the party “anti-Hindu, anti-Muslim, and anti-Constitution”.

The TMC MP highlighted that the temple at the centre of the controversy was actually built and maintained by the same fish-selling community now under attack. “These shopkeepers pray there. The big pujas are held there. Never in 60 years has such harassment happened,” she said in a post on X.

BJP leaders hit back swiftly. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva called the video “fabricated and politically motivated”. He stated that the CR Park fish market has operated legally for decades and its traders have always maintained temple decorum and cleanliness. “Everyone respects the sanctity of temples,” he asserted.

Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya also released a counter-video showing interviews with local residents and a temple priest, all of whom denied any threats or tension in the area. He suggested that the video posted by Moitra was aimed at stirring communal discord and possibly distracting from other controversies surrounding her party.

While Delhi Police confirmed that no formal complaint had been lodged, it acknowledged that the matter is under active enquiry.