‘Never eaten beef nor promoted it’: Food blogger Kamiya Jani after visit to Jagannath temple sparks row

 

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“I understand the temple authorities have some rules. I want to clarify I have not broken any rule. I am a practising Hindu, I have never eaten beef, nor do I promote it,” Jani said.

She added, “As a food blogger, I have shown people local cuisines of different places, which is what happened in the Kerala video — screenshots of which have been used. The story was about two truck drivers who found the beef dish at the Kerala restaurant. Since I don’t eat beef, I ate the kadala curry, appam and pazham pori.”

“There are lots of videos where I tell viewers about local food, but I don’t eat it all. I can understand that this might have been a misunderstanding, and I am issuing this clarification to end the misunderstanding,” Jani said.

On Friday, Union Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh took to X to hit out BJD’s V K Pandian, who was seen alongside Jani during her visit. “The violation of sanctity in Puri Shrimandir is extremely disturbing. V K Pandian allowing a beef promoter inside the iconic Jagannath temple is a disregard for religion, history and spirituality. Immediate and serious action is necessary for those responsible,” he said.

He also shared screenshots of Jani’s video, where the caption says the word “beef”.

पुरी श्रीमंदिर में पवित्रता का उल्लंघन बेहद परेशान करने वाला है।
वीके पांडियन द्वारा प्रतिष्ठित जगन्नाथ मंदिर के भीतर एक बीफ प्रमोटर को अनुमति देना धर्म,इतिहास और आध्यात्मिकता की उपेक्षा है।
जिम्मेदार लोगों के लिए त्वरित और गंभीर करवाई अति आवश्यक हैं। pic.twitter.com/PEhC4Syb6U

— Shandilya Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) December 23, 2023

OPCC president Sarat Pattnayak has also demanded an apology from Patnaik if Jani’s visit to the temple was done as per his instruction, news agency PTI reported.

BJD MP Manas Mangaraj Saturday hit out at the BJP for ‘defaming’ Jani with “fake news”. “BJP government appointed Kamiya Jani to make films on Hindu heritage and temples. She has gone to Chardham and Ayodhya to see Ram Lalla. And all of you love her for that,” Mangaraj said.

“When she made a video of the Dham Asi Parikrama project, immediately your followers tried to defame her through fake news and fake videos. If Kamiya Jani is right to promote the Ram Temple, then what is the problem in promoting the Parikrama project?” Mangaraj said on X.

— with PTI inputs