Ponda : Call to Ban Halal Products in Goa

Ponda: Following the decision taken by the Uttar Pradesh government, the Hindus of Ponda submitted a petition to the Inspector of Ponda Police Station demanding that production, storage and sale of halal products should be banned in Goa, as well as action taken against the organizations that issue halal certificates. The delegation comprised of Messrs Rakshit Shirodkar of Bajrang Dal; Sandeep Naik from Borim; Dinesh Sharma from Ponda; Meenanath Upadhyay of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; Satyavijay Naik of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Prakash Naik and Anand Shirodkar from Borim, as well as Mayur Kannavar from Ponda.

The petition states that Halal certification is working as a parallel system and thus creating confusion about the quality of food. This violates government rules. According to Section 89 of the Food Safety Act, the Food Safety Standards Authority of India of the Central Government and the Food and Drug Administration of the Government of Goa are responsible for determining the quality of food. Forcing the majority Hindu community, as well as other non-Muslim minority communities to consume ‘Halal certified’ food or products, is a violation of their religious rights. In Goa too, Halal certified food, cosmetics, medicines, from snacks to dry fruits, sweets, grains, oil to soap, shampoo, toothpaste, nail polish, lipstick etc. are being sold everywhere from small shops to big malls.

The store on Madgaon (Goa) Railway Station has many Halal certified items, many of which are made in Goa.

Why eat Halal chocolates, cakes, wafers in India?@Ramesh_hjs @HinduJagrutiOrg @SG_HJS @AtriNeeraj pic.twitter.com/501JD9p9IU

— Prashant Juvekar 🚩 (@HJS_PJ) November 8, 2023

Recently, a video of some people opposing the sale of Halal certified goods at the Margao railway station went viral on social media.