Aizawl: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government continues to speak in two voices over the beef ban in two states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Days after Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that those who eat beef should go to Pakistan, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju has said that his colleagues comments are "unpalatable".
"I eat beef, I'm from Arunachal Pradesh, can somebody stop me? So let us not be touchy about somebody's practices," Rijiju said.
He also even went onto to say that nobody could stop him from eating beef and sentiments and practices of people across the nation must be equally honoured. "If Maharashtra is Hindu majority and if they are to make laws which are conducive to the Hindu faith, let them be. But in our place, in north eastern states majority of people eat beef. So they also should not have a problem with the way we live. We have to honour the sentiments of each place and each location," he added.
Terming the recent statement of Naqvi as "not good", he, however, 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.
Naqvi had defended the beef ban saying it was the prerogative of state governments to work to protect the sentiments of their citizens. "It is not about loss or profit. It is an issue of faith and belief. It is a sensitive issue for the Hindus," Naqvi said. Stoking a controversy he added, "those who are dying without eating beef, can go to Pakistan or Arab countries or any other part of world where it is available. Even Muslims are against it," he contended.
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