Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 14 Jul: The Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) district administration on Thursday issued a controversial and polarising decree, barring the use of the word ‘beef’ on the signboards of hotels and restaurants in the ICR.
The order, issued by Naharlagun Magistrate Tamo Dada, claims that the word ‘beef’ on the signboards of such hotels and restaurants “may hurt the sentiments of some sections of the community and may create animosity between different groups.”
“District administration of ICR believes in the secular spirit of our Indian Constitution, but such open display of word ‘beef’ on the signboards of such hotels and restaurants may hurt the sentiments of some sections of the community and may create animosity between different groups of community,” the order reads.
The executive magistrate has directed all such restaurants and hotels to remove the word from their signboards, stating that failure to comply with the order would invite a penalty of Rs 2,000 and cancellation of trading licence.
Meanwhile, reacting to the decree, Arunachal Christian Forum president Toko Teki termed the order unnecessary.
On an earlier occasion, the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) had put up a controversial signboard on the Bank Tinali underpass, describing Itanagar as the ‘Hindi capital of the Northeast’. The IMC was forced to replace the signboard after it was widely trolled on social media.
Just after being elected, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government banned beef in some parts of the country, which sparked nationwide protests, led by the Congress party. The Congress accused the ruling BJP of “targeting the Muslim community and dictating their eating habits in the name of religion.”