Amid hijab row and call of ban on Muslim merchants in temple fairs, the right wing groups are now demanding ban on halal products in Karnataka. A social media campaign is going on to boycott purchase of meat from Muslim traders in the state.

Hindu Jagruthi Samithi, Srirama Sene, Bajarang Dal and other right wing groups have called for removal of halal certification from the sign boards of meat selling shops. They have also urged Hindus not to buy meat which is halal cut. Instead they have advised the Hindus to buy meat which is cut as per the Hindu traditional method called ‘Jhatka’.

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Pramod Muthalik, Founder of Sriram Sene on Wednesday said that halal cut meat should be boycotted in the state as well as the whole country. “The money given for halal products is used for anti-national activities. The money collected here will be used to bring out jailed criminals of terrorist organisations.”

“One of the Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders got Rs 15 crore transferred to his account during the Shaheen bagh protest. Akbar and Aurangzeb (Muslim kings who ruled India) had taxed Hindus,” he maintained.

Meanwhile, Hindu Jagruthi Samithi members have got sign boards which said ‘halal cut available’ removed from three shops in Vijayanagar of Bengaluru. At Nelamangala, in the outskirts of Bengaluru, banners have been put up to eat only at Hindu restaurants.

Endorsing the call, BJP National General Secretary and MLA C.T. Ravi has said that if Muslims can give a call saying they will only have to use halal cut meat, what is wrong if others choose not to use the halal cut meat? The communal harmony is not one-sided. It should come from the other side also, he said.

Mandating Halal is economic jihad, it is devised to make Muslims purchase only with traders of their religion and not to transact with others, Ravi underlined. Since meat is consumed on a large scale as village festivals are celebrated post Ugadi in Karnataka, the call to ban halal cut meat is going to create a problem in the state.

Hindu organisations are making appeals through videos and campaigns on social media. The videos are going viral.