He
is
facing
what
he
calls
"nonsense" for
his
comment
on
the
beef
ban
in
Maharashtra.
But
veteran
actor
Rishi
Kapoor,
who
says
he
doesn't
eat
beef
in
India,
is
undeterred
in
reiterating
that
food
and
religion
must
not
be
equated.
The
controversy
began
when
Rishi,
from
his
Twitter
handle
@chintkaps,
posted,
"I
am
angry.
Why
do
you
equate
food
with
religion??
I
am
a
beef
eating
Hindu.
Does
that
mean
I
am
less
God
fearing
then
a
non
eater?
Think!!".
He
was
brought
back
to
Twitter
by
Abhishek
Bachchan,
but
he
never
thought
he'd
land
up
in
a
hot
sticky
beef
stew
of
a
controversy
so
soon
after
his
return
to
micro-blogging.
"I
am
being
abused.
My
family
is
being
abused.
As
if
we
are
a
family
of
cow-killing
infidels.
What
nonsense," Rishi
said.
To
recap
the
events
leading
to
the
controversy,
Rishi
said,
"I
was
shooting
on
March
15
at
a
five-star
hotel.
We
took
a
break
for
lunch
in
the
coffee
shop
where
for
buffet
lunch
I
suddenly
see
venison,
kangaroo
and
lamb
meat
on
offer.
"I
told
my
colleagues,
'This
is
the
effect
of
banning
beef.
They
start
killing
other
animals
for
meat.'
Never
in
my
life
have
I
seen
venison,
which
is
deer
meat.
The
deer
was
dear
to
Bhagwan
Shri
Ram,
we
were
told
--
being
served
in
any
restaurant...
and
kangaroo
meat
in
India?
"
Rishi
then
tweeted
his
thoughts
on
the
matter,
and
before
he
knew
it,
"the
entire
nation
took
off
on
me".
"You
can't
deny
the
fact
that
animals
are
cut
for
meat.
Hindu
organisations
that
have
attacked
me.
They
want
me
to
be
vegetarian.
But
I
am
not!
And
that's
my
choice," he
said.
Rishi
doesn't
deny
being
a
beef
eater,
but
said,
"I
don't
eat
beef
in
India.
I
eat
beef
prepared
from
cattle
bred
for
food.
In
the
US,
England,
Australia
and
New
Zealand,
they
breed
cattle
specially
for
meat.
Not
like
us.
In
this
country,
we
do
not
breed
cattle
specially
for
meat-eating."
"I
don't
eat
cow
meat
in
India.
Beef
is
not
allowed
me
in
my
house.
90
percent
of
my
Hindu
friends
eat
beef
or
beef
products."
He
feels
persecuted.
"What
wrong
did
I
say?
People
have
simply
chosen
to
twist
my
words.
They
are
abusing
me
and
my
family.
If
our
Hindu
culture
forbids
beef
meat,
does
the
same
culture
give
you
the
right
to
abuse
me
and
my
family
just
because
I
have
an
opinion
that
you
don't
agree
with?
"If
by
banning
beef
the
restaurants
are
going
to
find
alternative
meat,
then
what
is
the
point?
What
about
fish
farming?
That
occupies
so
much
of
our
work
force
close
to
the
sea,
should
we
stop
eating
fish
as
well?
I
repeat,
I
don't
eat
beef
in
India.
"We
don't
breed
cattle
meat
here.
We
revere
the
cow,
and
there
was
a
scientific
reason
for
that
reverence.
Cows
give
us
milk,
curd,
ploughed
our
land.
Likewise,
pig
meat
is
avoided
in
some
areas
as
it
is
unhygenic."
He
feels
the
choice
of
being
a
vegetarian
or
otherwise
is
entirely
personal.
"Please
do
not
equate
food
with
religion.
I
believe
it's
not
my
khaana
(food),
but
my
karma
that
makes
me
a
good
human
being.
All
these
rules
of
living
are
man-made.
I
respect
these
religious
rules.
"I
am
a
true
god-fearing
Hindu...
Nonetheless,
I
have
every
right
to
have
my
opinion.
Don't
try
to
shout
me
down
just
because
you
have
another
point
of
view."
The
62-year-old
says
his
voice
won't
silenced.
"I
am
not
advocating
beef
eating.
But
I
am
advocating
a
freedom
to
have
an
opinion
and
a
voice."