The BRICS gala dinner menu row broke out a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted BRICS leaders and delegates for an all-vegetarian dinner at Bharat Mandapam on September 12, 2026. Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi questioned the menu choice on X, sharing a photo of chole bhature and noting that 80 percent of Indians are non-vegetarian.
What Was on the Menu
The gala dinner featured an elaborate vegetarian spread built around Indian regional cuisine, with starters like khandvi mille-feuille and khumb galouti (pan-grilled mushroom kebabs), a main course including paneer lababdar, gucchi marmik, and carrot bean poriyal, and desserts such as Old Delhi fruit cream with jalebi and shahtoot phirni. Millets were given particular prominence, reflecting India’s Shree Anna millet promotion push.
The Political Exchange
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju hit back at Gandhi without naming him directly, accusing the Congress of “making politics even on the food menu served to the leaders of BRICS nations” and defending the meal as a showcase of Indian vegetarian cuisine’s flavor and regional diversity. Congress leader Pawan Khera backed Gandhi’s stance, arguing India’s culinary diversity includes some of the world’s finest non-vegetarian dishes and questioning why they were left off the menu.
A Domestic Debate Amid a Global Summit
The exchange shifted attention, at least briefly, from the BRICS Summit’s diplomatic agenda toward a domestic debate over food representation. Even so, the summit’s broader focus remained on global governance, economic cooperation, and Global South priorities, with the menu controversy adding an unexpected political footnote to the proceedings.