The Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh has imposed a complete ban on halal-certified food products in the state. The government fear that illegal business is being done in the name of halal certification and the money is allegedly iim funding terror and anti national activities.
“With this ban the manufacturing, storage, distribution, and sale of halal-certified food products are banned with immediate effect,” read an order issued by the UP Food, Safety and Drug Administration Commissioner Anita Singh.
Apart from that any food product, drug, medical device and cosmetic product with halal-certified labels will attract legal action.
The Lucknow police has lodged an FIR against few organisations that were issuing halal certifications to push sale of products in a particular community.
The police has booked Halal India Private Limited in Chennai, Jamiat Ullema Hind Halal Trust in New Delhi, Halal Council of India and Jamiat Ullema in Mumbai have been named in the FIR along with “other unidentified manufacturing companies and their owners, people part of anti-national conspiracy, people funding terror outfits.
The FIR is based on a complaint by one Shailendra Kumar Sharma who accused companies of unnecessarily certifying even vegan products like beauty oil, soaps, toothpaste etc as halal products. Such products don't need a halal certificate.
“Halal certification is required only in food products. But these companies are certifying even pure vegetarian products also. This is done to promote only products of Muslim companies which obtain certificates from few organisations. This is against the healthy competition and is aimed at pushing sales of the product in a particular community,” Sharma said.
The FIR invokes the following sections of the Indian Penal Code:
Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy)
- Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups)
- Section 298 (uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings)
- Section 384 (extortion)
- Section 420 (cheating)
- Section 467 (forgery)
- Section 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating)
- Section 471 (using as genuine a forged)
- Section 505 (statements conducing public mischief)
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