‘Diverting attention from real issues’: Row erupts over Yogi Adityanath’s ‘halal certification’ remarks   

A political row erupted on Wednesday after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urged people to check for "halal certification" on products before purchasing them, reiterating his government's stand against such certifications in the state.

Adityanath on Tuesday said that his government had banned halal-certified items in Uttar Pradesh as the profits from such sales were being used for conversion, love jihad and terrorism. The CM urged people to buy indigenous products instead.

"You will be surprised that even soaps, clothes, and matchsticks have halal certification," the chief minister said, while speaking at the 'Vichar-Parivar Kutumb Sneh Milan' and 'Deepotsav Se Rashtrotsav' programmes organised in Gorakhpur.

Reacting sharply to Adityanath's remarks, UP Congress president Ajay Rai accused the BJP government of diverting public attention from key economic and employment issues.

"This government is quite brilliant in diverting attention from real issues. Why is the CM so focused on such matters?" Rai told PTI.

"We demand that the government release data on the investments that have come to UP since 2017 and the kind of employment generated. Instead of addressing these, the CM prefers to talk about halal certification," he added.

Meanwhile, All India Muslim Jamaat president Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi backed CM Adityanath's remarks, saying the practice of issuing halal certificates "is completely wrong in the light of Sharia".

"Religion is being used as a cover to make money," he said. However, Razvi added that he did not agree with the suggestion that the funds collected through halal certification were being used to finance terrorism.

Halal certification means that the said item has been manufactured by adhering to the Islamic laws.

The CM's recent remarks have reignited debate over the state's previous decision to prohibit halal-certified food products.

On November 18, 2023, the Office of the Commissioner, Food Safety and Drug Administration, Uttar Pradesh, issued a notification "prohibiting the manufacturing, storage, sale, and distribution of food products with halal certification within the state of Uttar Pradesh", while allowing an exception for export products.

The notification, issued under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, led to several petitions being filed in the Supreme Court challenging the order.