India, Sept. 8 -- Amid the massive row over Bageshwar Baba's appeal for a vegetarian diet during Durga Puja in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Economic Advisory Council member Sanjeev Sanyal has opposed the appeal, defending meat as an integral part of Shakta Hinduism.

Bageshwar Dham chief priest Dhirendra Krishna Shastri has stirred controversy in West Bengal after urging people to refrain from the sale and consumption of non-vegetarian food around Durga Puja pandals during Navratri.

Speaking at a large gathering in Kolkata, Shastri appealed to Hindus in West Bengal to avoid non-vegetarian food around Durga Puja venues and called for a boycott of those selling or consuming it in the vicinity of the pandals.

The remarks hav...