Beef cooked in the open and Hindus and Muslims sitting together for a meal - this was how a section of people in Kerala protested today against the recent ban on the meat in Maharashtra.
Beef in Kerala means both cows and buffaloes and its consumption has no religious overtones. Not only do some Hindus here eat beef, going by sales figures, it is also the most-favoured meat in the state.
The annual sale of beef is estimated at 2.3 lakh metric tonnes against the corresponding figure for poultry -- 1.51 lakh metric tonnes.
"I am a Hindu. I should be given the freedom to eat whatever I want, even when I am eating this," said Ajith P from Kannur, who was at the protest of DYFI, the state CPM's youth wing, at Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
Heading the protest, DYFI's B Biju said, "This is a token protest against the ban of beef in Maharashtra and a warning for anyone who would want to implement the same in Kerala. Any ban our food will not be acceptable."
Digging into the beef curry before returning to the Assembly, CPM legislator P Sreeramakrishnan said, "I eat my beef. And so do many others in Kerala. Nothing will change."
Anyone found selling or eating beef can be jailed for five years and fined Rs 10,000. Only the consumption of buffaloes, which give inferior quality beef, will be allowed.
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