Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday hit out at his Haryana counterpart, Manohar Lal Khattar, for his controversial remarks on beef eating by Muslims.
He said, “Kuch lohon ko is se takleef hai ki doosre kya khaate hain, unhe is baat ki chinta nahi ki desh mein kayi logon ko kuch nahi khaane ko milta (Some people are bothered about what others eat. The are not concerned that some people in this country don’t get to eat anything at all.)”
Kejriwal’s comments, which he tweeted on Friday evening, come after Khattar made a hugely controversial remarks ‘asking’ Muslims to leave India if they wanted to eat beef.
Also Read: (With audio) Khattar’s ‘lies’ on beef comment exposed by Indian Express
After Indian Express reported his comments as a front page story on 18 October, Khattar was quick to deny he ever said anything to that effect blaming the newspaper for twisting his statements.
But the paper released an audio, where the controversial BJP chief minister was clearly heard saying what was reported.
The statement was made in a context of last month’s killing of a Muslim man in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh by a mob who suspected that he ate beef.
Khattar, who completes one year in office as chief minister on October 26, maintained that the cow, Bhagwad Gita and goddess Saraswati were articles of faith for the Hindu community.
He maintained that the constitution, which had no provision banning cow slaughter or consuming beef, had the provision that no one should do anything that offends the faith of another religion.
A political greenhorn and first-time legislator, Khattar, a former RSS pracharak, was chosen by the BJP to head its first government in Haryana last year, overlooking the claims more experienced leaders.
There’s been a steep rise in communal riots in Haryana since Khattar took over as chief minister. In May this year, hundreds of Muslims were forcibly kicked out of their village in Ballabhgarh’s Atali village after they decided to construct a mosque with court’s permission in their own land. The rioters had torched the properties and houses owned by Muslims.
Khattar’s inept handling of the situation was widely criticised.
