The post triggered a controversy with Bharatiya Janata Party and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders saying that it hurts the religious sentiments of Hindus.
Kerela tourism has landed up in controversy after it posted an advertisement on the occasion of Makar Sakranti on social media promoting a beef dish.
On January 15, taking to Twitter, Kerela tourism posted a photo of the dish with the caption, "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."
The post triggered a controversy with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders saying that it hurts the religious sentiments of Hindus.
BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje said that by posting the advertisement on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, "Kerela Communist government" had "declared a war against Hindus of the state."
"Communism is a disease, shame on u," he added.
Another BJP leader Mohsin Raza launched a scathing attack on the Kerela government, saying that the government intentionally put out the advertisement to hurt religious sentiments.
"The tweet from Kerala’s tourism ministry has hurt religious sentiment. I ask the Kerala government if they want to promote tourism or beef dishes. I had forwarded this tweet to the Governor of Kerala and to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). I demand a strong action should be taken against Kerala's twitter handle. Kerala’s government should apologize to the nation," VHP leader Vinod Bansal said.
Responding to the criticism, Kerala Tourism Minister K Surendran said that "no one is linking food with religion", adding that "giving communal colour" to the advertisement is condemnable.
"Those who're trying to find communalism in all this, are creating a controversy by saying 'put pork pictures'. Many dishes, including pork pictures, are already on the website, they might not have seen." he added.
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