New Delhi: Kerala House in New Delhi will resume serving beef fry at its canteen from Wednesday a day after it was taken off its menu following a raid by the Delhi police.
The state guest house’s canteen decided to stop serving beef after the Delhi Police raided the Kerala House October 26 saying it had received a complaint that beef was served there. A person claiming to be a member of the Hindu Sena (army), a fringe right-wing group, reportedly made the call.
The state guest house dismissed allegations that cow meat was served at its premises. What was offered was only buffalo meat, it clarified.
Reacting to the incident, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said some people were unnecessarily creating a row over the beef ban.
He accused the Delhi Police raid as “unfortunate.”
Kerala House, the chief minister pointed out, is not a private hotel or an institution run for making profit. “It is an official guest house of the state government. The police action was really unfortunate. They should have shown some restraint before carrying out searches,” Chandy added.
“The raid was conducted without any permission or prior intimation to the resident commissioner (of Kerala House). The Kerala government has filed a formal complaint to the Commissioner of Delhi Police,” Chandy told reporters.
Kerala HouseAccording to him, the state guest house serves “authentic Kerala cuisine, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. All the items in the menu are in accordance with and entirely within the confines of law.”
Chandy also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi seeking his “personal intervention: to instruct the Union home minister for taking stringent action against those responsible for trespassing into the premises of the state govt property and ensure that this kind of incidents does not occur again.”
The prime minister has sought a report on the matter from the federal internal ministry.
Meanwhile, the Delhi police justified the raid saying they were doing their duty. Delhi police chief B S Bassi said it was acting for the sake of law and order, but a “wrong impression was created.”
The police had been criticized for its repeated visits to the state guest house following a complaint that beef was being served at its canteen.
“The Delhi Police will never act against a private institution,” Bassi said. “We know no irregularities will take place at Kerala House, but it was our duty to investigate the matter… it could have been a situation which could have led to a communal flare up.”
In view of Kerala House’s decision to serve buffalo meat from October 28, the police chief added his department will post adequate security at the site.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had been demanding that the police be brought under the Delhi government from the Union home ministry, too, criticized the police action.
Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the incident amounted to an infringement of the powers of the state. Kerala government would soon send a letter to the lieutenant governor of Delhi expressing the state’s strong protest over the issue, he added.