BJP distances itself from Khattar over beef remark

However, Khattar maintained that his words were twisted but he was ready to apologise if he had hurt the sentiments of people. “My words have been distorted. I never made such a statement. But if the sentiments of anyone have been hurt with my words, I am ready to express my regret,” Khattar said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said: “The views expressed by Khattar are not that of the party. I will talk to him and will advise him. It is wrong to say like that.” He added that it is not correct to link anyone’s eating habits with religion.”

“This is not the BJP’s position....It is not correct to link eating habits to religion. People have to keep in mind the sentiments of others and eating is a personal choice of people,” he said.

Khattar’s advisor Jawahar Yadav said that Khattar never made such a statement. “The Chief Minister has himself denied that he made such a statement. He did not say what has been published by a newspaper. The Chief Minister has said <g data-gr-id="60">cow</g> is a subject of faith for crores of people in the country. Khattar had given an example of his recent visit to Mewat, where gaushalas (cow shelters) are being run by Muslims and where some people expressed views that Muslims should avoid eating beef,” he said.

In an interview published by a newspaper, the Haryana Chief Minister had said: “Muslims can continue to live in this country, but they will have to give up eating beef” because “cow is an article of faith here”.

Coming close on the heels of controversial statements made by some BJP leaders over the lynching of a Muslim man by villagers in Greater Noida’s Dadri area over beef-eating rumour, Khattar’s comments have invited a backlash from the opposition parties, especially Congress.

 

The Congress has called it a sad day for the Indian democracy and slamming him for his “unconstitutional” remarks.

“Sad day for India’s democracy! CM <g data-gr-id="54">Khattarji</g> will now decide qualifications for Indian citizenship. Is this new model of governance Modiji?” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked, taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav attacked the BJP, saying: “Its leaders keep taunting Muslims and ask them to go to Pakistan, but what will they do with people in <g data-gr-id="58">north-east</g> where beef is eaten?  They will have to understand that India is not Europe or China. It is a diverse country.” 

Another Congress leader Rashid Alvi said Khattar’s comments were unconstitutional and he had no right to continue as the Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, Naidu said no civilised person would support the killing of anyone for his eating habits and termed the Dadri incident as “highly condemnable”. The Prime Minister and BJP chief Amit Shah have also expressed their disapproval over the incident.

He, however, said the Dadri incident was a law and order issue concerning Uttar Pradesh and its chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and the Samajwadi Party  (SP) government should be questioned on it, instead of putting the blame on the BJP-led Central government.

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister also denied that intolerance was increasing in the country and said that such incidents have been taking place in the past too.

He alleged that there was a “systematic and malicious campaign” to derail the government’s and the Prime Minister’s focus on development and growth of the country. “There is a systematic and malicious campaign against the BJP-led government to divert its focus from development and to derail Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts of making India develop and progress further,” he said.

Naidu also termed the protest by writers who returned their awards as “selective” and questioned how many of them had resigned when the Emergency was imposed in the country or when the 1984 anti-Sikh riots took place in the aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Sikhs were massacred in Delhi.