‘Food Has No Religion’: Kerala Min on Controversy Over Beef Tweet

The Kerala Tourism handle tweeted a photograph of beef ularthiyathu, a signature Kerala dish, to promote tourism.

Kerala Tourism tweeted a photograph of beef ularthiyathu, a signature Kerala dish.

(Photo: Twitter/Altered by The Quint)

A day after Kerala Tourism's official Twitter handle posted a picture of a beef dish, Tourism Minister Kadakkampally Surendran responded to outrage from some quarters.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Surendran said that attempts to communalise the tweet was condemnable. He said that no one in Kerala is linking food with religion. "The government does not have any interest in hurting religious belief of anyone,"he said.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had earlier criticised the tweet.

"Is this tweet meant for promoting tourism or promoting beef? Isn't it hurting sentiments of crores of cow worshipers? Is this tweet generated from the pious land of Shankaracharya," tweeted VHP National Spokesperson Vinod Bansal.

"The @KeralaTourism must understand that u can't promote anything by hurting religious sentiments of millions of its own tourists worshipping cows," it said and also tagged Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel, demanding action.

There were also voices supporting the Kerala handle's tweet, especially from the state, who also took this chance to inform people about more dishes from the south Indian state.

Kerala Tourism's tweet read: "Tender chunks of beef, slow-roasted with aromatic spices, coconut pieces, and curry leaves. A recipe for the most classic dish, beef Ularthiyathu, the stuff of legends, from the land of spices, Kerala."

(With inputs from ANI and IANS)