Beef tweet: We don't mix up food with religion, says Kerala tourism minister K Surendran

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran has defended the tweet on the official handle of Kerala Tourism promoting a beef recipe, which triggered sharp reactions from several social media users. The minister asserted that communally inclined people were behind this 'malicious campaign'.
"Here in Kerala, we don’t mix up food with religion.Kerala Tourism has been promoting all kinds of Kerala delicacies including beef and pork. We don’t give any communal perspective to such promotions," the minister told reporters here on Friday.

Kerala Tourism is far ahead of tourism departments in other Indian states in terms of its visibility on social media platforms 'thanks to its efficient marketing strategies', the minister said, adding, tourists visiting the state ask particularly for the dishes which are being promoted on the internet. "Our marketing is a model for the whole world. Kerala Tourism has 18 lakh followers on Twitter, 35 lakh - Facebook and 2 lakh - Instagram," he said.
The Kerala Tourism’s Twitter handle on Wednesday had posted a photo of "Beef Ularthiyathu" with a link to the recipe. The tweet went viral and several people maintained that it was an insult to Hindus who worship cows.
“The communal forces are trying to project that beef delicacies are made of cow meat, which is not correct. Someone was asking if we will promote pork dishes, which we have already done. We are doing such promotions including those on art, culture, festivals and heritage of Kerala, besides on our cuisine regularly,” the minister said urging people to not pay heed to such false campaigns.