Kerala Tourism’s tweet on beef delicacy sparks war of words

Guwahati: A tweet by Kerala Tourism, sharing a picture on beef delicacy, has ended up sparking a war of words on Twitter on Thursday.

The official handle of Kerala Tourism posted a picture of beef with the recipe, and wrote, “Tender chunks of beef, slow-roasted with aromatic spices, coconut pieces, and curry leaves. A recipe for the most classic dish, Beef Ularthiyathu, the stuff of legends, from the land of spices, Kerala: keralatourism.org/kerala-food/be…..”

Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran criticised those who were trying to give a communal colour to the tourism department’s tweet on the Kerala delicacy beef “ularthiyathu” and said in the southern state no one links food with religion.

The tweet shared on Makar Sankranti generated mixed reactions on social media with many users criticising the state government.

Some critics said the timing of the tweet on beef could have been better, given people in other states are celebrating festivals like Makar Sankranti, Pongal and Bihu. They claimed it was a day cattle and cows were worshiped, and the timing of the tweet was in poor taste.

The Kerala government on Friday clarified that the government has “no interest in hurting religious beliefs of any group”.

Shobha Karandlaje, BJP MP from Udupi, wrote: “Kerala communist govt have declared a war against Hindus of the state! Kerala Govt is taking a ride on Hindu sentiments by glorifying Beef on #MakarSankranti day.”