Muslims can continue to live in India only if they stop eating beef: Haryana CM Khattar

The beef debate that has been steadily spreading across the nation has now moved to Haryana. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is the latest to weigh in, showing great benevolence in assuring Muslims that they can stay in the country, but only on one condition. [caption id=“attachment_2358360” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Manohar Lal Khattar. Image Credit: Facebook[/caption] “Muslim rahein, magar is desh mein beef khaana chhodna hi hoga unko. Yahan ki manyata hai gau (Muslims can continue to live in this country, but they will have to give up eating beef. The cow is an article of faith here),” Khattar told The Indian Express_._ The Haryana Assembly, it may be recalled, passed a bill banning cow slaughter in March this year. The ‘Gau Sanrakshan and Gau Samwardhan Bill 2015’ states that offenders will face rigorous imprisonment for between three and 10 years, and a fine of between Rs 30,000 and Rs one lakh. But wait, there’s more.  Even the vehicle used to transport the cow to be slaughtered isn’t safe, and can be impounded. Khattar, meanwhile, pointed out to The Indian Express that while the Dadri lynching was ‘wrong’, the whole incident occurred due to a ‘misunderstanding’ and that ‘both sides’ were at blame. Mohammad Akhlaq’s fault, according to the chief minister, was a ‘loose comment’ that hurt the sentiments of people who were apparently hurt enough to murder the man. The report mentions that Khattar, at this point, compared the hurt experienced by the men to the emotions a person whose sister or mother had been killed or molested would experience. Khattar also questioned whether eating beef was a prerequisite to being Muslim, or Christian for that matter. “Culturally, we are democratic. Democracy has freedoms, but those freedoms have a limitation. Freedom of one person is only to the extent that it is not hurting another person,” he added eloquently. Jawahar Yadav, the OSD to the Haryana chief minister, was quick to clarify that Khattar had said nothing of the sort, and that the newspaper got it wrong. The real message the chief minister was trying to send out was apparently that ‘we should respect everyone’. We’re glad he cleared that up. Here’s what Lalu Yadav thought:

Lalu Yadav on ML Khattar's statement on Muslims and beef. pic.twitter.com/HqtqkJURax

— ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2015