People decide what they eat, say: Alphons Kannanthanam

New Delhi: Minister of state for tourism Alphons Kannanthanam said on Saturday that the stand of the BJP-led Central government is that people have the right to make their own choices with respect to both speech and food. Soon after taking office, Mr Kannanthanam had said that the BJP had no problem with people in Kerala eating beef. However, on Thursday, when asked whether the tourism industry would be hit by ban on eating beef in many Indian states, he had said that foreign tourists “can eat beef in their country and come to India”.

“In a democracy, it is the people who decide what they should speak, what clothes they should wear and what kind of food they should eat, and that exactly is the stand of the government,” Mr Kannanthanam said on Saturday.

Talking to news agencies, the 1979 Kerala cadre officer had said that the BJP had never said that beef cannot be eaten. A controversy had erupted following a notification banning the sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets in May. This, along with ban on cow slaughter in many states, was cited by Opposition parties to allege that the government was trying to impose certain food habits.

The Madras high court had stayed the notification, and later the Supreme Court had extended it to the entire country. The Centre had told the court that it would come up with an amended notification.

Meanwhile, at the event, he urged government officials to reach to the public and listen to them as they could have “fantastic” ideas.

“Bureaucrats and politicians do not have all the wisdom in the world. We need to listen to the ordinary, simple, illiterate and semi-literate people, who have fantastic ideas. Bureaucrats, those who govern, must keep their eyes and ears open, learn to listen to people and meet them,” he said.