Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, on Monday, 15 November, said the state government did not have any problem with the different food habits of people but was only concerned about 'unhygienic' food being sold from food stalls, PTI reported.
His comments came days after the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) had issued verbal instructions to ensure that all non-vegetarian food, including eggs, be removed from 'public display' at food stalls.
"Some people eat vegetarian food, some people eat non-vegetarian food, the BJP government does not have any problem with it. There have been demands to remove particular 'larries' (carts) from the road," he said while addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) programme at Bandhani village in Anand district, as per PTI.
"Our only concern is that the food sold from food carts should not be unhygienic," he added.
The CM said local civic bodies could take decisions on removing food carts if they hamper road traffic.
"Local municipal corporations or municipalities take decisions to remove food carts. They can do so if they are obstructing traffic on city roads," he said.
Background
The VMC, on Thursday, 11 November, had issued verbal instructions to remove non-vegetarian food from 'public display' at food stalls. This had been done to 'respect religious sentiments' and 'avoid traffic snarls.'
The orders came a day after the Rajkot city mayor asked the VMC to ensure that non-vegetarian food stalls remain strictly within the hawking zones and steer clear of the main road.
Vendors had been asked to adhere to the instructions within 15 days or face penalties.
In October, during the Navratri festivities, several Hindutva outfits had compelled meat shops to shut down in various states, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.
(With inputs from PTI, The Indian Express and The Times of India.)
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