On the evening of September 7, the new Union Minister for Tourism, KJ Alphons, commented on beef and the manner in which it would effect tourism in India.
The Minister told reporters:
They (tourists) can eat beef in their own country and come here yaar... the whole world should come and see us... We have to love our history and our country... We have to tell them... look here, this is a beautiful country
These comments follow a contradictory remark made earlier this week, when Alphons said Kerala will continue to eat beef and that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has no problems with it.
On 4 September, a day after his swearing-in, the Minister had said:
Kerala is a beef-eating state. It is not going to stop eating beef. It will continue to eat beef. The BJP doesn’t have a problem.
When reminded of these comments, the newly-appointed Minister said:
That is a cock and bull story... I am not the Food Minister... I am the Minister for Tourism.
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