Union Textile Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh has triggered a controversy with his appeal to Hindus to avoid halal meat and consume only jhatka meat, calling the practice deeply rooted in Sanatan Dharma.
Singh made the remarks last week, on August 30, while visiting a meat shop, Jhatkaz, in Bihar's Madhubani district. Videos of his comments have since gone viral.
It should be mentioned here that halal and jhatka are distinct methods of animal slaughter, with jhatka involving a single stroke and halal carried out in stages.
“I want to thank Muslims for not eating jhatka meat. Even your close friends who are Muslim, if they visit your house, they will not consume jhatka meat. I respect Muslims because they are committed to their religion. In their entire life, they survive as Muslims. When they die, they are buried separately as per their beliefs,” Singh stated.
“On the contrary, we, the people of Sanatana Dharma, are divided into castes, but when we die, the bodies of everyone are burnt at the same place, be it Mahadalit or Brahmin. Muslims are connected to their religion, but we are a little separated. So, we have to be different in our food habits as well,” he added.
Appealing directly to Hindus, the Minister said, “Those who are fond of eating non-vegetarian food should consume only jhatka meat. If jhatka meat is not available, they must completely avoid eating halal meat.”
Notably, this is not the first time the Textile Minister has appealed to Hindus to consume jhatka meat. He has long been campaigning and urging them to do so.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), soon after the videos went viral, accused Singh of neglecting governance and rather focusing on people's food habits.
RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad said, “The Union Minister of Textiles is not honest towards his own department and responsibilities. He has never talked about providing jobs and employment through his department. He opened a textile park in Tamil Nadu, but nothing for the people of Bihar. He only talks about religion. Under the Indian Constitution, people have freedom to eat and drink as per their own choice. He'd better not give lectures on food habits.”
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav also hit out at the Minister. Taking to microblogging site X, he said, “Those responsible for weaving the fabric are the ones busy tearing it apart. Struggling with tariffs, he cannot manage his own textile ministry, yet goes around preaching to the nation. Highly condemnable!”
In another comment, Yadav remarked, “Those who are responsible for the ‘fabric’ are the ones busy spoiling the fabric itself. Tormented by tariffs, their own textile ministry can’t get its act together, and they’re distributing consultations across the country. Utterly reprehensible!”
Singh, however, responding to the backlash, insisted the meat issue was linked to Sanatan Dharma.
“The meat issue is deeply connected to Sanatan Dharma. In Hindu tradition, during animal sacrifice, the practice is to kill the animal in one swift stroke, while the Muslim community follows a different method, cutting the animal slowly. Muslims can eat what they wish, but Hindus should follow their religion and traditions by adopting only jhatka meat,” he said.
Later, issuing a clarification, the Minister said his comments were being politicised.
“Those who are politicising my statement on Sanatan and meat are against Sanatan itself. I only said what Sanatan prescribes. In Sanatan, it is said that only meat obtained through sacrifice (jhatka) should be eaten. As for Lalu ji or Tejashwi ji, they may go to whichever shrine or mosque they wish to offer prayers, we have no objection,” Singh clarified.
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