BJP hosts mock samosa party to protest Himachal CM Sukhu’s focus amid missing samosa controversy

Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and current Leader of the Opposition, Jairam Thakur, organized a “samosa party” for BJP members in Mandi on Friday. This satirical event was in response to the controversy surrounding the disappearance of samosas and cakes meant for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu at a CID event on October 21. Thakur, accompanied by BJP workers, was seen enjoying samosas during the gathering, making light of the situation. Thakur remarked, "Bahot Swadisht hai bhai (It’s delicious, brother)," while the BJP posted a video of the event on social media, criticizing the Congress government for its handling of the matter. The BJP has objected to the focus on this incident, calling it a diversion from more pressing issues like unemployment and economic challenges in the state.

The incident that sparked the controversy occurred during a function at the CID headquarters on October 21, where CM Sukhu was the chief guest at the launch of a new cyber-crime data center. It was reported that three boxes of samosas and cakes, which were intended for the chief minister, went missing. Reports claimed that the snacks had been consumed by the CM’s security personnel. The situation escalated when some media outlets reported that the CID had opened an investigation into the missing snacks. Both CM Sukhu and CID officials, however, denied the claims, clarifying that the investigation was related to alleged misbehavior by some CID officers, not the missing food. CM Sukhu stated, “The probe was about misbehavior of officials, but the media has turned the CID probe into samosas.”

In protest against the situation, BJP MLA from Hamirpur, Ashish Sharma, ordered 11 samosas online and sent them to CM Sukhu, along with a message highlighting the state’s ongoing issues. Sharma wrote in a Facebook post, “The state is already grappling with problems like unemployment, financial crisis, and delays in employees’ pensions. At such a time, ordering a CID inquiry on samosas is very disappointing.” He added that his gesture was meant to remind the government to focus on real issues instead of trivial matters like missing snacks. Sharma’s protest drew attention to the perception that the state government was distracted by the samosa incident rather than addressing more serious concerns facing the people of Himachal Pradesh.

The controversy also sparked protests in Shimla, where the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) organized a "Samosa March." In a video shared by news agency ANI, BJYM workers were seen gathering in the streets holding a poster of CM Sukhu, chanting slogans such as “Sukhu ka Samosa kisne khaya?” ("Who ate Sukhu’s samosa?") and “Samosa sarkar murdabad” (“Down with the samosa government”). The protesters criticized the Congress government for focusing on the samosa controversy while other critical issues, such as rising unemployment, deteriorating law and order, and the increase in drug abuse among youth, were being ignored. The BJYM demanded CM Sukhu's resignation, accusing him of failing to address the state’s real problems.

In response to the growing outrage, Himachal Pradesh CID Director General Sanjeev Ranjan Ojha clarified that the investigation was not about missing samosas but about misbehavior by some officers during the event. Ojha stated, “This is completely an internal matter of the CID. It should not be politicized. The CM does not eat samosas. We just want to find out what happened.” He further explained that the CID had not issued any notices or taken any disciplinary action regarding the incident. Ojha emphasized that the investigation was aimed at understanding the internal matter and ensuring proper conduct within the CID. He also addressed the role of the media in misreporting the issue, stating that the probe had been misrepresented as being about the missing snacks.