The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government took a decisive step against the illegal issuance of Halal Certificates, and issued an order on Saturday that forbade the production, storage, distribution, and sale of food products with the Halal certification with immediate effect, said a press release.The ban came after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of the issue, said the official statement.According to the official release, strict legal measures will be implemented against any individual or firm engaged in the production, storage, distribution, buying, and selling of Halal-certified medicines, medical devices, and cosmetics within Uttar Pradesh.However, products manufactured for export will not be subject to the restrictions.Uttar Pradesh | Food Commissioners Office issues order, In the interest of public health, production, storing, distribution and sale of halal certified edible items banned in Uttar Pradesh with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/G9GXLPj83n— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) November 18, 2023The press note further mentioned that the state government recently received information indicating that products such as dairy items, sugar, bakery products, peppermint oil, salty ready-to-eat beverages, and edible oils are being labelled with Halal certification.Additionally, certain medicines, medical devices, and cosmetic products are reported to feature the Halal certificate on their packaging or labelling. However, there are no provisions for marking Halal certification on labels in the government rules related to drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics, nor is there any mention of Halal certification in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and its related rules.Any direct or indirect mention of Halal certification on the labels of medicines, medical devices, or cosmetics constitutes falsification under the said Act, making it a punishable offence.Similarly, according to the Act and rules applicable to food items, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the apex body for food items, has been given the right to determine the standards of food items, based on which the quality of food items is ensured.Halal certification, operating as a parallel system, creates confusion regarding food quality, violating government rules in this regard, said the press release.Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Minister Sanjay Nishad, during the day, lauded CM Yogi for his dedication towards the development of the state and for keeping such conspirators and conspiracies like Halal certification in check.I want to thank the Chief Minister for his persistent efforts to make this state (UP) the best among all. Action is being taken against all the mafias, conmen and conspirators (under Yogi). You can see how they are deceiving by certifying products as halal. It is the misuse of words like Halal and Haraam. There are some people who wear jaalidaar caps and spew venom and mix it in peoples minds, said Sanjay Nishad.So this government wants that in all Madrasa, schools and trust, proper education needs to be provided. Proceedings will be done against those who do conspiracies, he added.An FIR in this regard was registered in Lucknow Commissionerate last Friday.Why the decision has been takenAccording to the filed FIR, entities such as Halal India Private Limited Chennai, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust Delhi, Halal Council of India Mumbai, Jamiat Ulama Maharashtra, and others exploited religious sentiments to boost sales by providing Halal certificates to customers of a specific religion. Illegal businesses are being run for financial gain.The complainant raised concerns over a potential large-scale conspiracy, indicating attempts to decrease the sales of products from companies lacking the Halal certificate, which is illegal. There is apprehension that this unfair advantage is being passed on to anti-social/anti-national elements.The complainant further alleged that, under the guise of religion, unrestrained propaganda is being disseminated within a particular section of society to discourage the use of products lacking a Halal certificate.This, in turn, harms the business interests of other communities. Such a malicious attempt not only seeks unfair financial benefits by issuing Halal certificates for items meant for common citizens but also forms part of a pre-planned strategy to sow class hatred, create divisions in society, and weaken the country.Many individuals beyond the owners and managers of the implicated companies are believed to be part of this criminal conspiracy, with potential links to anti-national activities.(With ANI inputs)
