Kerala CM says beef eating part of state's culture, ban in police academy to go

On May 20, a ‘beef party’ was reportedly organized at the academy.

news Beef row

Putting an end to the controversial beef ban at the Police Academy in Thrissur, Kerala’s newly sworn-in Chief Minister has said that eating beef is a part of Kerala’s culture.

According to reports, Pinarayi’s response comes after the Inspector General of the academy, S Suresh Rajpurohit, reportedly began a probe into a recent case of beef being served in a canteen. This took place in contravention of “unofficial orders” banning beef that had been prevailing for over a year.

Pinarayi, who is also retaining charge of the home ministry, made it clear that Kerala has a tradition of people eating the food of their choice and that no changes would be allowed in the same.

On May 20, the day after the LDF was declared victorious in the elections, a ‘beef party’ was reportedly organized at the academy and beef was served to cadets in one of the five messes on campus.

The controversy had first caught public attention in November 2015, when CPI (M) member MP Rajesh wrote in a Facebook post that an unofficial beef ban had been in place at the police academy.

However, both the IGP and the director of the academy, Rajesh Dewan, have denied reports of any ban on serving beef at the academy.

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