A Telangana collector who was the centre of controversy after his remark on 'Brahmanical culture', reportedly got pulled up by Telangana Chief Secretary SP Singh.
Jayashankar Bhupalapally Collector A Murali said that beef ban due to "bad Brahminical culture" is affecting the health of people, especially scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes and advised them to eat what they had been eating for centuries to remain physically fit.
The Collector also asked tribals to eat wild boars as the Forest Department has allowed them to kill this animal. He said that meat of wild boars is in huge demand in countries like US.
However, hunting wild boars is a criminal offence, as it is a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act.
The Collector is reported to have apologised for his remarks.
“In my efforts to ask SCs and STs to take nutritious diet such as beef, I inadvertently called upon them to kill wild boars. But, killing wild boars is a crime as per Forest Laws,” a statement said.
A day later, Forests and Environment Minister Jogu Ramanna announced that an inquiry had been initiated against the collector, and action would be taken on him for his statement.
Addressing a crowd on Friday, the IAS officer said villagers in Ranga Reddy and Mahabubnagar districts told him during his visits that they had turned weak because beef is no longer available.
"I am telling you because this is a fact. A bad Brahminical culture has come in, which is saying we should not to eat beef. This is all nonsense," he said.
"They told me that earlier they used to do hard work because they were eating beef. They want to eat beef but it is not available," he said.
Murali also criticized the traditions which bar people from eating a particular dish. "People these days wear this mala and that mala and avoid taking meat. This is all nonsense."