Some 20 policemen entered Kerala House on Monday following a complaint that it was serving beef.
New Delhi:
Kerala House in the capital served buffalo meat for lunch today. It sold out in 45 minutes.
The state guest house had taken off buffalo meat from its menu for a day after a big Delhi Police team landed up to investigate a complaint that it was serving beef or cow meat, which is banned. The man who had called the police, Vishnu Gupta of an organisation called the Hindu Sena, was arrested today and charged with making a "false complaint."
The Hindu Sena had alleged on Monday that Kerala House was covertly serving cow meat as a handwritten menu said "beef fry," the only item listed in Malayalam. It was in fact buffalo meat, said an angry Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy in a letter he shot off to the Prime Minister, describing the police visit as a "raid."
Today, the menu said meat fry and meat curry (buffalo) in English. It also soon said "sold out" much to disappointment of many who thronged the canteen for lunch.
"We don't want any confusion after what happened. So we have mentioned that it's buffalo meat," said T Sudhish, a staffer at Kerala House. He had used Malayalam on Monday, he said, since the dish is popular among people from Kerala.
Amid protests and criticism, the Delhi Police has had to explain the alacrity with which it rushed a large team of cops to Kerala House based on Mr Gupta's call.
Delhi police chief BS Bassi's assertion that they had acted to pre-empt what could "lead to a communal flare-up," was rejected by Mr Chandy.
"The Delhi Police explanation is unacceptable. They have gone beyond their call of duty," he told NDTV this morning, adding, "We abide by the law. Will serve buffalo meet again from today at Kerala house."
He has sought an apology, failing which he would take legal action, the Congress chief minister said. Two other chief ministers - Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi and Bengal's Mamata Banerjee have supported him, calling the police action an "assault on the federal structure."
The state guest house had taken off buffalo meat from its menu for a day after a big Delhi Police team landed up to investigate a complaint that it was serving beef or cow meat, which is banned. The man who had called the police, Vishnu Gupta of an organisation called the Hindu Sena, was arrested today and charged with making a "false complaint."
The Hindu Sena had alleged on Monday that Kerala House was covertly serving cow meat as a handwritten menu said "beef fry," the only item listed in Malayalam. It was in fact buffalo meat, said an angry Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy in a letter he shot off to the Prime Minister, describing the police visit as a "raid."
Today, the menu said meat fry and meat curry (buffalo) in English. It also soon said "sold out" much to disappointment of many who thronged the canteen for lunch.
"We don't want any confusion after what happened. So we have mentioned that it's buffalo meat," said T Sudhish, a staffer at Kerala House. He had used Malayalam on Monday, he said, since the dish is popular among people from Kerala.
Amid protests and criticism, the Delhi Police has had to explain the alacrity with which it rushed a large team of cops to Kerala House based on Mr Gupta's call.
Delhi police chief BS Bassi's assertion that they had acted to pre-empt what could "lead to a communal flare-up," was rejected by Mr Chandy.
"The Delhi Police explanation is unacceptable. They have gone beyond their call of duty," he told NDTV this morning, adding, "We abide by the law. Will serve buffalo meet again from today at Kerala house."
He has sought an apology, failing which he would take legal action, the Congress chief minister said. Two other chief ministers - Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi and Bengal's Mamata Banerjee have supported him, calling the police action an "assault on the federal structure."
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