New Delhi: Kicking up a row with a remark on the already fragile beef-eating habit of a section in the society, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said Thursday “Muslims can continue to live in this country, but they will have to give up eating beef” because “the cow is an article of faith here”.
Khattar, who completes one year in office later this month as the head of a BJP government, told in an interview to The Indian Express that the cow, the Gita and Saraswati were articles of faith for the majority in the country, and that Muslims would not be violating their religious beliefs by giving up beef.
“Muslim rahein, magar is desh mein beef khaana chhodna hi hoga unko. Yahan ki manyata hai gau (Muslims can continue to live in this country, but they will have to give up eating beef. The cow is an article of faith here),” Khattar said, responding to questions on how he viewed the Dadri incident and whether or not such incidents would communally polarise the country.
Khattar was asked about the unfortunate Dadri incident, where Mohammad Akhlaq was beaten to death by a group of men over suspicion of cooking beef at home. Haryana CM while calling the incident 'wrong' and said that it was due to misunderstanding. According to him, both sides made mistakes in the incident and virtually blamed Akhlaq. Khattar claims that the victim made a loose comment about cows which incited the mob, who subsequently attacked him.