The Bharatiya Janata Party-run municipal corporations in Delhi have decided to direct meat shops and restaurants in their jurisdiction to mention if the meat they sell or serve is halal or jhatka.
While the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) Thursday passed a proposal regarding mandatory mention of halal or jhatka meat, the North DMC is all set to carry out a similar exercise, ThePrint reported.
The South DMC’s proposal has been cleared by its standing committee and will now be sent to the House for final approval. The resolution, tabled by Chattarpur councillor Anita Tanwar last month, states that consuming halal meat is “forbidden and against religion in Hinduism and Sikhism”.
“There are 1000s of restaurants in 104 wards of four zones falling under South Delhi Municipal Corporation. Out of these meat is served in about 90 per cent of restaurants but it is not mentioned whether the meat being served by the restaurants is halal or jhatka,” reads the resolution. “Similarly, the meat shops also do not make the distinction… Therefore, this meeting resolves that this direction be given to restaurants and meat shops that writing/mentioning jhatka or halal has been made mandatory.”
On why the resolution stated that “eating halal was against Sikhism and Hinduism”, Tanwar said: “Those were examples that we state in the MCD documents while sending the proposal…I would like to know the specifics before ordering anything. Other Hindus would too. But if someone wants to consume it, we aren’t stopping anyone.”
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), however, said the BJP civic bodies were indulging in such issues to divert attention.
A senior government official who looks into the MCD-related issues for AAP said most shops already follow this norm. “Most meat shops already specify jhatka or halal in Delhi; so it’s nothing new,” the official added. “Anyway what we do want to debate is the fund crisis and how they aren’t being able to pay their staff.”
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Rushda Fathima Khan is the Staff Reporter for The Cognate.
