Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh, a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has called on Hindus to exclusively consume ‘jhatka’ meat instead of halal meat, while talking about the ‘importance of adhering to Hindu dietary customs.’
Addressing the public in his parliamentary constituency of Begusarai in Bihar, Singh praised the commitment of Muslims to consuming only halal meat and urged Hindus to demonstrate a similar dedication to their religious traditions.
“The Hindu way of slaughter is jhatka. Whenever Hindus perform ‘bali’ (animal sacrifice), they do so in a single stroke. As such, they must not corrupt themselves by eating halal meat. They must always stick to jhatka,” Singh stated.
In addition to encouraging Hindus to pledge against consuming halal meat, the minister proposed a new business model involving the establishment of retail outlets exclusively selling ‘jhatka’ meat. He cited the example of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, urging Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to consider prohibiting the sale of food products labelled as “halal.”
Singh also encouraged Hindus to spend their free time visiting temples in the evenings, asserting that “no religion was as good as ‘Sanatana Dharma’ or Hinduism.”
