“I Have Neither Consumed Beef Nor Promoted It”- Kamiya Jani

“I Have Neither Consumed Beef Nor Promoted It”- Kamiya Jani

Social media influencer and YouTuber Kamiya Jani's trip to the Jagannath Temple in Puri sparked a political dispute earlier this week. The BJP alleged that the state government had assisted the entry of someone promoting beef consumption. In the midst of this big argument Jani released a video on Sunday to explain the accusation of eating and promoting beef in one of her previous videos. During her visit to the holy city of puri, Jani was seen having Maha Prasad with  VK Pandian, the Chairman 5T and Nabin Odisha. She also discussed the Shri Mandir Parikrama project happening at Jagannath Puri dedicated to creating a divine experience for the devotees.

Everything in the video looked absolutely fine but then came the twist when the netizens  started taking screenshots from one of Jani’s food blogs at Kerala, where she has been accused of eating Beef. The question arises to her how a person who has had beef before can enter the Shri Mandir and also have the holy Prasad.  Addressing this controversy Jani posted a video on her social media handles on Sunday saying, “The objective behind my visit to Jagannath Temple in Puri was to seek blessings of the deities and also inform people about the ongoing infrastructural development there. It is unfortunate that my visit has now fallen into a controversy. I understand that the temple authorities have some rules. I want to clarify that I haven’t broken any rule. I am a practising Hindu. I have neither consumed beef nor promoted it,”

But the members of BJP, who have accused Jani of eating and promoting beef, doesn't seem to believe her explanation. Dhamnagar MLA Suryavanshi Suraj asked, "There was beef on her table. It's not about whether she ate it or not. She's seen promoting beef, so how can someone like that be allowed into the sacred shrine in Puri?" He also targeted bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian, who hosted Jani, for facilitating her visit without a proper background check.

Jani, who is the founder of Curly Tales, a platform boasting content of food and travel, also pointed out the real facts of the Kerala video, the screenshots of which are being used to dub her as a promoter of beef consumption. She said, “The video mentions the history of beef curry, at an eatery discovered by truck drivers and which went on to become a speciality there. “Since I am not a beef eater, I had appam, Pazham pori and Kadala curry and also mentioned about the price of the dishes at the end of the video. In our food blogging videos we used to mention different cuisines, ‘but it is not like I eat them all. This might be a misunderstanding. And I hope that this clarification will put an end to it,”

The BJP party had earlier demanded registration of a case against them under IPC Section 295 A for hurting religious sentiment of people.

On the flip side, the state's ruling party, BJD, accused the BJP of spreading misinformation. They explained that Jani had partaken in 'Mahaprasad' at Radha Ballav Math, and cameras were not permitted inside the temple area. "May Lord Jagannath bless the BJP leaders to overcome their narrow mindset,"  a statement from BJD expressed.