Shillong, Aug 1: Cabinet minister and BJP leader Sanbor Shullai said that his suggestion to eat more beef was misunderstood.
“The statement has been given a new dimension with few media houses editing the actual press briefing leading to a different interpretation of what was said by me,” Shullai said on Sunday.
In a statement, he said the beef comment was particularly made in the context of Assam where a ban on it created a panic among the indigenous tribal and other communities in Meghalaya who consume it and consider beef as a staple diet.
Shullai said the people of Meghalaya fear that if they vote BJP to power, the same would be applied here.
“So, to eradicate any such fears against the BJP, I wanted to tell the indigenous tribal people here in Meghalaya that they will be able to continue to eat more beef without the fear of any item being banned in Meghalaya”, he said.
He said his only intent was to tell the citizens of Meghalaya that no such rule would ever come to affect the lives of the indigenous tribal people in Meghalaya and not for any other purpose, he said.
“I hereby appeal to all the citizens of our country and to the people of the state of Meghalaya that they should not get carried away by misquoted or misinterpreted news articles. These are tactics used by opposition and vested individuals who look to jump on any opportunity,” he added.
Sanbor assured the indigenous people that the BJP will protect them and their unique heritage and that it will never interfere with the socio-cultural way of life.
“I hope that people now have more clarity on the comments made by me and I shall strongly condemn the edited and fabricated news item which was published in sections of social, print and electronic media platforms with the sole intention of generating TRP and trying to create a negative image of my party and me,” he added.
