‘I eat beef too…it’s lifestyle in Meghalaya': State BJP chief

Refusing the allegations made by some political parties that BJP is an anti-Christian party, the Meghalaya BJP Chief said that it is just “political propaganda.”

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Meghalaya chief Ernest Mawrie said Thursday that there are "no restrictions" on eating beef in the state and he also consumes it. Mawrie called beef-eating a "lifestyle" of the people there which "cannot be stopped by anyone".

"I cannot make a statement on the resolution adopted by other states. We are in Meghalaya, everybody eats beef, and there is no restriction. Yes, I eat beef too. There is no ban in Meghalaya. It is the lifestyle of the people, no one can stop it. There is no such rule in India also. Some states have passed some acts. In Meghalaya, we have a slaughterhouse, where everybody takes a cow or pig and brings it to the market. It could be a hygienic one. So the people have the habit," Mawrie was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

"No church has been attacked or targeted in the country in the nine years of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government," he claimed, adding that states such Goa, Nagaland are proof that BJP is not anti-christian. "I am also a Christian and they never tell me not to go to Church..." he added.

"This time the people of Meghalaya want a change. As per our survey, we will get the magic number in double-digits and form the government," he said. BJP had won just two seats in the 2018 assembly election.

Meghalaya goes to election on Monday.