Haryana Government on Sunday clarified Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar's remark that the State would offer special licence for foreigners to consume beef, saying it would be possible only if any such provision was there in the Act.
A day before, the Chief Minister had said that his government might roll out a special license which would allow foreigners to consume beef in the state legally.
Currently, a strict beef ban is in place in the state keeping in mind the religious sentiments of the people.
Clarifying the statement, Jawahar Yadav, OSD to the Haryana Chief Minister said, “There is a ban on liquor in Gujarat. But there is a special permission under which foreigners can consume alcohol. likewise, the Chief Minister was asked whether there would be any special permission under which foreigners could eat beef in the state,"
"The Chief Minister had replied to this saying that people of Haryana do not eat beef and are against cow slaughter. He had said that according to his knowledge, there was no such provision in the act which allows for any special permission,” Yadav said.
"The Chief Minister had also said that it was an issue of the analysis of the Act and if there is any such provision, then the decision on this regard would be made accordingly," Yadav added.
Khattar had on Saturday also said that the opposition to eating beef was not about anyone in particular, but reflected the feelings of the Haryanvi society which did not want to eat it.
After coming into power, the Khattar-led BJP government in Haryana had passed a strong law which banned the sale, trafficking and slaughtering of cows, with rigorous imprisonment of three to 10 years for violations. President Pranab Mukherjee had approved the law in November 2015.