A day the Kerala Tourism's official Twitter handle triggered a major controversy by posting a picture of a beef dish on the day of Makara Sankranti, a Hindu festival, Tourism Minister Kadakkampally Surendran responded to the row.
Speaking to ANI, K Surendran said that attempts to communalise the tweet was condemnable.
"In Kerala no one is linking food with religion. Government does not have any interest in hurting religious belief of anyone. Giving communal colour to this is condemnable," he said.
Several Twitter users, especially those with the right wing, had urged people to boycott Kerala for 'disrespecting Hindus' and other users alleged that the government of the state, which has over 25 percent of Muslims, would not dare post recipes of pork.
Addressing these allegations, Surendran said that pork recipes too are available on the Kerala Tourism website.
"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 said. A cursory glance at the tourism website shows that they do have pork and beef recipes.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Tourism Minister CT Ravi tweeted welcoming people to Karnataka, and he listed out many popular vegetarian dishes in the state. This in turn has lead to many within Karnataka questioning if the BJP wanted to showcase only the vegetarian dishes of the state. Read here.
The tweet that created the controversy
On Thursday, Kerala Tourism tweeted a picture of 'Beef Ularthiyathu' - popular dish from the state on their official handle.
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: https://t.co/d7dbgWmlBw pic.twitter.com/aI1Y9vEXJm
— Kerala Tourism (@KeralaTourism) January 15, 2020
Pointing out that the Hindus celebrated Makara Sankranti and Pongal on the same day, several Twitter users took offence to the timing of tweet, arguing that the left government in Kerala was intentionally attempting to hurt Hindu religious sentiments.
Let's boycott this beef eating state Kerala who hv the guts to show picture of beef on MakarSakranti day. #BoycottKeralaTourism . https://t.co/ptDx5kyaGV
— Vivek Gautam (@Saharanpuri) January 16, 2020
Please junk Kerala as a tourist destination
— Carcoleptic விஜயலக்ஷ்மி (@wataboutery) January 16, 2020
Let them rot in their own fat
Travel to Tamil Nadu / Karnataka (multiple circuits), Andhra Pradesh (Tirupati to Rishikonda) and Telangana (concentric around Bhagyanagar, aka Hyderabad).@KeralaTourism #BoycottDevils https://t.co/AZYYBY9EjY
However, several other users in support of Kerala Tourism added that people were free to choose what they wanted to consume, and that the tweet did not force beef on people.
Travel is about exploring the local cuisine of the place. Kerala is famous for beef and obv they will highlight that. Tweeple tweeting boycott Kerala, pls don't travel anywhere. ANYWHERE!! You are not going to get curd rice where ever you go.. #foodie #KeralaTourism https://t.co/otNejxgZDk
— Chittra M (@masalaboxtravel) January 17, 2020
India is for all, not just for Hindus. There are many who eat beef including Hindus. And it is their choice.#Kerala pic.twitter.com/8Ke1LfOPH0
— Abhishek (@akimabhi) January 16, 2020