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K’taka BJP gen secy seeks ban on halal certification
Ravikumar, who is the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s state general secretary, said that several organisations are charging money for issuing this certification in an unauthorised manner.
Karnataka legislative council member N Ravikumar said on Wednesday that he will introduce a private bill during the upcoming winter session of the assembly to ban Halal certificates issued by Muslim organisations.
Ravikumar, who is the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s state general secretary, said that several organisations are charging money for issuing this certification in an unauthorised manner.
‘Halal’ is an Arabic word that translates to “permissible” in contrast with haram, which translates to “forbidden”. Any food or product which is prepared as per the Islamic law is ‘Halal’.
“The Halal certification, which was earlier restricted to meat, has now been extended various products like cosmetic goods, food items, among other things,” the BJP leader said.
“The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is the government agency which gives the certification. But who gave these Muslim organisations the permission to certify halal products? They are not a certified authority to do this. They charge lakhs of rupees to give halal certification. Where does this money go?” he asked.
Ravikumar added that the Bill he moves in the legislature will seek amendments to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. “This way, the government can take action against the illegal certification,” he added.
There is no legal authority in India, unlike in Arab countries, to provide ‘Halal’ certification. It has to be acquired voluntarily by businesses. Some private bodies comprising Muslim clerics, as well as some religious groups, provide certificates.
Does FSSAI have any halal certification norms?
State food authority comments?
Ravikumar’s decision came in the bakdrop of pro-Hindu right wing outfit Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) restarting its campaign to ban halal certification on various products in the state.
The outfit met several MLAs and leaders of the ruling party on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum seeking a law to ban halal certification. BJP national general secretary CT Ravi and state health minister Dr K Sudhakar were among the leaders who were presented the memorandum, according to HJS functionaries.
HJS spokesperson Mohan Gowda told reporters on Wednesday: “In the name of halal certification and religion, there is a huge conspiracy and mafia to sell halal products across India. Muslim organisations are collecting crores of rupees using halal certification and the money is being used for anti-national activities.”
“This why we are giving our memorandum to all the legislators, including the chief minister and the home minister, to ban halal products. In the upcoming Winter Session, the halal products should be banned and the state government should bring in a Bill in this regard,” Gowda said.
The right wing organisation has been campaigning to ban halal-certified products, including meat, in the state, since March this year.
“The certificates are being issued illegally. The government should also probe how the crores of rupees collected in the name of halal certificates are being used,” he added.
Ahead of the Ugadi festival in March, the outfit had demanded a ban on Halal-certified meat. It had urged Hindus to boycott products with Halal certification alleging that the money from the certification was used for “anti-national activities”.
The HJS has maintained that despite having government agencies such as FSSAI and the Bureau of Indian Standards, ‘Halal’ certificates are being imposed on various products in the country.
Speaking about the HJS’s demands, BJP’s CT Ravi said, “They submitted a memorandum yesterday. I will talk to chief minister and then we will take a decision regarding this. We don’t identify Halal certification in our country. But it is recognised in some other countries. We will have a discussion and then take a call.”
Earlier this year, Ravi had likened halal to “economic jihad”.
“It means that it is used like a jihad so that Muslims should not do business with others. It has been imposed. When they think that halal meat should be used, what is wrong in saying that it should not be used?” he had said in April.
