Assam Chief Minister criticizes Deputy Commissioner for extravagant lunch at Cabinet meeting

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed disappointment with the Deputy Commissioner of Nalbari for arranging an elaborate food spread during a recent cabinet meeting on June 27, 2024, despite clear instructions for a simple vegetarian meal.

In a letter to the Deputy Commissioner, Sarma stated, "In spite of repeated instruction from this office to arrange simple vegetarian meal during the Cabinet Meeting held on 27/06/2024 at Nalbari, you have not followed the instruction accordingly. Rather, elaborate arrangements were made for serving the lunch with too many items. I express my extreme displeasure for such action in your part. Henceforth, such instruction should be carried out scrupulously."

The lunch menu included plain rice, jeera rice, pulao, mutton curry, special fish curry, fried fish, small fish cooked with ginger, mixed lentil soup, fried small potatoes, fried brinjal, mashed potatoes with mustard oil, sesame seed chutney, pickle, sweet yogurt, and gulab jamun, among 22 other items.


Cabinet meetings in Assam are held in different locations by rotation. The state government had previously instructed the concerned deputy commissioner to make simple arrangements and avoid lavish spreads for visiting ministers.