The recent decision of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to 'ban' the sale of non-vegetarian food during the nine days of Navratri festival has triggered a nationwide controversy over the issue.

 

An IANS-CVoter survey reveals interesting differences in responses from supporters of different political parties, though a surprising majority of the respondents seem to support the restrictions imposed on the sale of meat during the duration of the holy festival.

 

As many as 61 per cent of the respondents in the nationwide survey said they approved of the decision to restrict the sale of meat during Navratri, while a little more than 28 per cent disagreed with the proposition. Just about 10 per cent of the respondents said they had no opinion on the matter.

 

The surprising revelation was that large sections of both BJP and AAP supporters seemed to approve the restrictions, while most Congress supporters were in disapproval.

 

A narrow majority of respondents (50.5 pert cent) also disagreed with the proposition that such bans and restrictions were not constitutional as they went against free choice.

 

Similarly, close to 54 per cent of the respondents were of the opinion that the decision was intended to target the Muslim community, while close to 47 per cent of the Congress supporters felt the decision did target the Muslim community.

 

A large number of independent surveys over the years seem to suggest that a majority of Indians are non-vegetarian, though they do opt for restrictions during religious festivals.