Kerala House beef 'raid': State govt threatens legal action even as buffalo meat is back on menu

Thiruvananthapuram: The row over Delhi police “raid” at Kerala House on a complaint its canteen served ‘beef’ persisted on Wednesday with the state government threatening legal action if the Centre does not admit that it was a “mistake” even as buffalo meat was back on the menu. [caption id=“attachment_2486460” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Kerala CM Oommen Chandy. PTI[/caption] Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta was, meanwhile, detained by Delhi police for allegedly making a false complaint that beef (cow meat) was being served at the canteen of the state-run guest house in the national capital and was being questioned. Maintaining that the Delhi police action on Monday has affected Centre-State relations, the Kerala Cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday discussed the matter and decided to take legal course if the Centre also stuck to the explanation given by Delhi police that “they only did their duty and carried out an inspection in accordance with law”. “The raid conducted without the permission of state officials at the state-run official guest house crossed all limits of propriety, violated law and also affected Centre-State relations,” Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters after the meeting in Thiruvananthapuram. The version of the Delhi police on the raid was “not at all acceptable to the state and we are waiting for the reply to the letter sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the issue. Kerala will take legal action if the reply from Centre also corraborates the stand taken by Delhi police on the matter,” Chandy said. He asserted that cow meat, banned in Delhi, was not served at the Kerala House. “But, buffalo meat, which is not banned, will be served from today itself at Kerala House no matter who opposes it.” He alleged that the raid was a “deliberate attempt to please somebody” and also to trigger fear in the minds of people. “Police came to Kerala House even without verifying the credentials of the complainant,” Chandy said. Hitting out at the Delhi police, Chandy said the incident has affected India’s federal system. However, he said, “Kerala is ready to take a moderate view if mistake is admitted”. Buffalo meat, which was briefly out of the menu of the Kerala House canteen after the Delhi police entered its premises, was back to the delight of its patrons with several people queuing up to relish the dish. Items made of buffalo meat were sold out at Samridhi Restaurant, run by the staff of Kerala House, within “45 minutes” of its reintroduction on the menu. The canteen staff, who did not want to be named, said that buffalo meat fry and curry could only be served between 12.45 pm and 1.30 pm due to unexpected high demand. “Our prepared stock was enough to serve only 150 people during the lunch hours,” a staff said. Delhi’s ruling Aam Admi Party (AAP) demanded sacking of Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi for allegedly “misguiding” the nation on the beef row in Kerala House issue and justifying “criminal trespass” of its premises on rumours of beef being served there. The CPI-M politburo termed Delhi Police’s entry into the guest house as “illegal given buffalo meat is allowed to be sold legally” in the national capital. It sought punishment against security personnel involved in the “raid”. “This act by Delhi Police is also a clear violation of federal structure of Indian Constitution and infringes upon rights of state governments on their property in the national capital. It is unacceptable,” it said. PTI