Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said he was "misquoted" while commenting on a statement of ministerial colleague Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on meat-eating habits of people.
In a statement issued here, Rijiju said he was "misquoted" when representatives of civil societies and the press asked him if one has to go to Pakistan if he or she was in a habit of eating beef.
"India is a secular country and food habits cannot be stopped but the Hindu faith and sentiments must be respected in Hindu majority states in the same way as other communities have rights in their own dominant states," he said.
On Tuesday in Aizawl, Rijiju was quoted by the media as saying: "I eat beef. I am from Arunachal Pradesh. Can somebody stop me? So let us not be touchy about somebody's practices."
He was reacting to a statement by Minister of State for Minority Affairs Naqvi made a week ago that those who eat beef should go to Pakistan.
