BENGALURU: Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Wednesday his government will look into the call of Hindutva outfits, endorsed by BJP's national general secretary C T Ravi, for Hindus to boycott halal meat.
Bommai said "serious" objections have been raised and the government would look into the issue before taking a stand, in what perhaps marked the first instance of a chief minister wading into an escalating controversy.
"It has nothing to do with rules, it's only a practice. Now some serious objections have been raised and we'll look into it," he said. Bommai's description of the campaign that Hindus shun halal meat as "serious objection" was seen as an endorsement of an issue which, after having remained consigned to the fringe, promises to become part of the discourse over inter-faith equations that has acquired a sharp edge over the hijab row, status of Tipu Sultan, clashes between Hindutva outfits and their radical Islamic groups and the ban on Muslims selling their wares in temple fairs.
BJP functionary C T Ravi has been quoted as saying that halal meat is dear to Muslims but for Hindus, it is leftover that they should avoid. He has justified the stand by saying that if Muslims are justified in insisting that only halal is acceptable, then he is also well within his right to ask people to avoid it.
The call came ahead of Ugadi, when people feast on meat the day after the festival. Bommai, who started off as a socialist, denied that his government has turned right wing, saying that his focus was on growth. "Only growth has wings, no right wing or left," he said.
