The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has initiated a new campaign against Muslims in the Uttar Pradesh state of India that the party rules.
A first information report (FIR) was registered on November 17, at the Hazratganj Police Station in Lucknow against the halal certifying agencies. The FIR against the halal certificate was filed by Shailendra Kumar Sharma, a resident of Lucknow.
As a result of the FIR, the right-wing UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath banned halal certificates for products.
The UP government also banned the manufacture, storage, distribution, and sale of halal-certified food items. The Uttar Pradesh government, however, exempted exports of halal items in its order.
In the FIR, religious scholars have been targeted by accusing them of spreading conflict among the public.
The Jamiat Ulema Hind has strongly condemned the decision, denying the allegations levelled by the Uttar Pradesh government. It says that obtaining a halal certificate or not is the prerogative of buyers and manufacturers.
A halal certificate saves a large number of consumers from using products that they do not want to use for various reasons, it says. Those who do not want to use halal-certified products are free not to use them, it adds.
The Jamiat Ulema Halal Trust has said that in India these days, a lot of things use cow urine, which is unacceptable to many domestic and foreign consumers.
Indian users on social media have reacted strongly to the Uttar Pradesh government's decision. If there is to be a ban, it should also be imposed on large international companies in UP that export beef with halal certification, as per Indian media reports.
They have called the Uttar Pradesh government's decision against the halal certificate highly condemnable and ridiculous.
Analysts said this decision by Yogi Adityanath is a proof of the extremism and anti-Muslim policies of the Modi government. Yogi Adityanath is the biggest two-faced person and hypocrite, an analyst said.
Observers feel that before India’s elections, the Modi government will impose similar restrictions in several other states.
