Won't oppose beef-eating in Kerala: BJP Kerala President V Muraleedharan

NEW DELHI: Kerala BJP state unit president V Muraleedharan has said his party has no plans to protest against beef-eating in Kerala. Maintaining that food and dress of people vary from state to state depending on climatic and cultural conditions, he asserted that his party’s constitution does not have any provision to regulate the eating and dressing habits of people. “The BJP does not interfere with what kind of food people should eat and what dresses they wear. Our party constitution does not speak about regulating the food habit of the people or about imposing any dress code,” Muraleedharan told ET from Kerala.

When asked if the BJP will object to beef-eating in Kerala, he said, “in India, food and dressing habits vary from state to state, depending on respective climatic/geographical conditions and cultural and traditional backgrounds. In Kerala, people are predominately non-vegetarian and in some others states such as Gujarat people are mostly vegetarian. As I said earlier, the BJP has no intentions to regulate the food habit of people, and therefore, we have no intention to protest against people eating beef in Kerala”. He elaborated: “Again, people in Kerala wear ‘mundu’ and shirt while in some states people wear kurta and pyjama. The BJP does not demand any common dress code either.”

Muraleedharan charged Left parties with opportunism on the beef issue. “It is the Congress governments that banned cow-slaughter in 24 states. But Left, especially CPM, had no problem with that and they even aligned with Congress in UPA-1. Yet, the same Left is now trying to rake up a controversy in Kerala by holding beef festivals. It only shows the opportunism and double standards of Left parties.” Recently some Left activists held ‘beef festivals’ in some campuses, resulting in clashes with their opponents.

On the raging beef controversies in UP and J&K, he said, “I don’t need to comment on issues in UP and J&K because, as I have already said, food habits vary from states to states, depending on culture and traditions...” of the people there.”