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As a row erupted over his reported comments that Muslims can live in the country but will have to give up eating beef, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said his words have been distorted but he was ready to express regret if he has hurt the sentiments of people.
The reported remarks on beef triggered an outrage with the Congress calling it a sad day for Indian democracy and slamming him for his “unconstitutional” remarks.
However, the BJP leader said his words have been twisted.
“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,” Mr. Khattar said.
The Chief Minister’s Advisor Jawahar Yadav said that Mr. 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 CM has said cow is a subject of faith for crores of people in the country. Khattar had given an example of his recent visit to Mewat where Gau Shalas 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”.
Reactions
Coming close on the heels of controversial statements made by a few BJP leaders over the lynching of a Muslim by villagers in Dadri over rumours that he had eaten and stored beef, Mr. Khattar’s reported comments invited a backlash from the opposition parties.
“Sad day for India’s democracy! CM Khattarji 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 BJP, saying its leaders keep taunting Muslims and ask them to go to Pakistan but what will they do with people in northeast where beef is eaten?
“They will have to understand that India is not Europe or China. It is a diverse country,” he said.
Another Congress leader Rashid Alvi said Mr. Khattar’s comments were unconstitutional and he had no right to continue as the chief minister.
BJP distances itself
BJP dissociated itself from the views of Mr. Khattar and said this was not the party’s stand.
“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,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu told PTI, adding that it is not correct to link anyone’s eating habits to 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.
Mr. Naidu said no civilized person will 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 of 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 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.
“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.
Mr. Naidu also termed the protest by writers who returned their awards as “selective” and questioned how many of them had resigned when 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.