Minister Kiren Rijiju has a Beef With Colleague Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Aizawl:  Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s comment that those who want to eat beef “can go to Pakistan” has not gone down well with his own colleague in the BJP-led government. The comment is “not good,” Kiren Rijiju, the Minister of State for Home, said on Tuesday.

“I eat beef, I’m from Arunachal Pradesh, can somebody stop me? So let us not be touchy about somebody’s practices,” Mr Rijiju was quoted by The Indian Express newspaper as telling reporters in Mizoram capital Aizawl.

Last week, Mr Naqvi, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs, had defended the ban on cow slaughter and beef in two BJP-ruled states, Maharashtra and Haryana, in words that many found controversial.

“It is not about loss or profit… it is an issue of faith and belief. It is a sensitive issue for the Hindus. Those who can’t do without beef can go to Pakistan or Arab countries or any other part of world where it is available,” he was reported as saying at a conclave organized by a private TV channel.



 



The statement is not palatable, said Mr Rijiju, asserting that such a ban could not be imposed on northeastern states, where beef is a popular choice.

“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 northeastern 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,” Mr Rijiju said.

But he also added that Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was using his freedom of speech and expression.