CPI MPs stage dharna against police action at Kerala House

New Delhi: CPI-M MPs from Kerala on Tuesday termed as an attack on the country's Federal system the entry of police into Kerala House canteen in New Delhi following complaints of beef being served there.

Raising placards "Protect our food habits. Stop Pariwar attacks", three CPI(M) Members of Parliament from the southern state also staged sit-in at the entrance of Kerala House.

CPI(M) politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, who later joined the protest also criticised the move to remove "buffalo" meat from the menu of Kerala House, saying it was an attack on the food habits of Malayalees. "It is an attack on the Federal system prevailing in the country, it is an attack on the food habits of Malayalees," Vijayan told reporters.

Hitting out at the Delhi Police for their alleged action, he said the Kerala House was an important establishment after the state secretariat in Kerala. A PCR call by a person, claiming to belong to a fringe right-wing group yesterday, complaining that beef was being served at Kerala House canteen had seen Delhi Police personnel rush to the premises.

He also criticised Kerala Chief Minister Ooman Chandy for not registering his protest with the Centre adequately. "The restaurant in Kerala House was procuring the meat only from outside," he said adding that there was no slaughter.

Majority of the people in Kerala consume beef, he said. Kerala government, however, maintained that there was no beef being served at Kerala House and lodged a complaint with Delhi Police over the unauthorised entry of some activists into the state-run guest house even as buffalo meat was removed from the menu.