India is a secular country and food habits cannot be stopped: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju
Amidst a row over eating beef, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said no restrictions can be put on food habits in a secular country like India but the sentiments of the majority should be respected in Hindu- majority as well as Christian and Muslim-majority states.
On reports that he had said he eats beef and nobody can stop him, Rijiju said, "I never said that I eat beef. I said that we must respect each other's faith, belief and food habit."
"India is a secular country and food habits cannot be stopped," he told PTI over phone from Aizawl against the backdrop of remarks by his Ministerial colleague Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi that those who want to eat beef should go to Pakistan.
"I told them that when we visit Hindu-majority Maharashtra or Gujarat, we must respect the sentiments of the majority and should not do anything which would hurt the sentiments of the majority. Similarly, when someone visits a Christian-majority or Muslim-majority area, they should respect the sentiments of majority local people," said the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs
Earlier, terming the recent statement of Naqvi as "not good", Rijiju had said that the Minister was using his freedom of speech and expression. He said that the cultures, traditions, habits and sentiments of all the people in the country should be respected and honoured.
Meanwhile, taking a pot-shot at BJP government, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed tweeted, "Modi government's MoS Home and BJP leader Kiran Rijiju says ''I eat beef''. When Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is sending his own minister to Pakistan?."
Few days ago, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had asked that those "dying" to eat beef to leave for Pakistan.
However, later he defended his remarks by saying faith of millions should not be hurt over choice of eating.
"This is not a matter of controversy. If one talks about cows, definitely crores of people revere it, they worship it and call it 'Gomata'. I am a Muslim and in my locality if somebody says that I will sell pork, I will not say anything but all the Muslims in that locality will throw him out."
"In Islam, pork is prohibited. That is why it should not be sold or even seen. How can one think that when such a large section has faith for cow and worships it, you expect to cut it in front of them and a legal suit is given to it...One has to think about this issue," Naqvi said.
Disapproving his ministerial colleague Naqvi's remark, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said, "It is natural that people should realise their responsibilities. The Prime Minister has also said so time and again."
(With agency inputs)
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