After video snippets of her food vlog showing beef curry and a later visit to the Jagannath Temple in Puri created a controversy, online content creator Kamiya Jani has come out with an explanation. The outrage from the BJP and other right wing affiliated persons was about Kamiya, a "beef-eater", visiting a Hindu temple, since cows are considered sacred animals. Kamiya, in an attempt to end the controversy, said that she had not broken any rules, had not eaten beef or promoted it.
"My purpose of visiting the Jagannath Temple was to take the blessings of Lord Jagannath and share information about the temple's infrastructural development to the people. It is unfortunate that one of my visits has turned into a controversy. I understand that the temple authorities have some rules and I would like to clarify that I did not break any rule. I am a practicing Hindu. And neither I have eaten beef anytime nor do I promote it. I have definitely made content about local cuisine of different places. And that’s what happened in the Kerala video whose screenshots have been used [to campaign against me]," Kamiya said.
In an earlier food vlog about her visit to a restaurant in Kerala, she had posted about a popular dish of the state – pazham pori (banana fritters) and beef curry – which is shown as served to her. However, Kamiya clarified that she ate the pazham pori with kadala (chickpeas) curry and not beef.
After a few right-wing handles mixed her Kerala food vlog with her visit to the Odisha temple along with Biju Janata Dal member VK Pandian, a lot of anger and fake news began to spread against her online.
Initially, a few had opposed her visit to the temple claiming that she was a Muslim. Fact-checker Mohammed Zubair called out a news anchor who claimed that Kamiya was a Muslim. "Kamiya Jani is a Jat Hindu. Daughter of Mohan and Poonam Jani. Wife of Samar Verma," Zubair tweeted.
He also shared posts by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who seemed angered by Kamiya's new video, saying that it hurt religious sentiments. However, in an earlier post in April, the Minister had shared a video of Kamiya that featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photos of BJP spokesperson Shehzad, a Muslim, visiting the temple were also shared by Zubair.