Beef an integral part of minority cuisine, will not be banned : Goa CM Parsekar

At a time when BJP government's in Maharashtra and Haryana are clamping down on sale of beef, Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar has decided to tread a separate path. 

According to reports, he has made it clear that Goa government will not beef ban. In a quote published in The Indian Express, Parsekar said that, “As the CM, I have to take care of all people in the state including its 38 per cent minorities. Christians account for 30 per cent of the population while the remaining are from the Muslim community. It is not like they started consuming beef recently; this has always been part of their daily cuisine. How can I ban it?”.

Goa currently allows for all kinds of cattle slaughter except for cows and Parsekar has made it clear that this norm will continue in the future. Reacting on other states banning beef Parsekar said that each state is free to have its own opinion, but Goa will not follow suit. Parsekar said that sentiments are hurt with regard to killing of cows, but not oxen and bulls. However he clarified, "We don't permit killing of cows, and even oxen are not killed there (in Goa) now".

A veteran RSS man, Parsekar also said that it was extremely hard for BJP in Goa to gain trust of the minorities. But over the years, BJP has reached out to them and Christians have now started voting for the saffron party. Parsekar also claimed that his government has done more for the uplifting of the Christians than the previous Congress regime.