National
May 11, 2022

Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian has requested people to avoid eating shawarma, saying it is not a part of Indian cuisine. Addressing reporters while overseeing the mega vaccination drive Sunday, Subramanian said there are other food items available and people should avoid eating those that are ‘western’.The minister’s statement came days after three students of the Veterinary College and Research Institute at Orathanadu in Thanjavur, who consumed shawarma, were admitted to Thanjavur Medical College Hospital for treatment due to food poisoning. Shawarma is a dish of Arabic origin where thinly sliced pieces of marinated meat are rolled into a flat bread.“Shawarma is a western food. It won’t get spoiled there, since in those countries, the temperature may go below zero. But without proper freezing technology, it will get spoiled. Eating these spoiled foods will lead to severe health problems,” he told reporters.It may be noted here that officials in Kerala had found that the shawarma which made people ill carried pathogenic salmonella and shigella.In another bizarre statement by a minister, Former Finance Minister and Trinamool Congress vice-president Yashwant Sinha on Monday said that declaring India a “Hindu Rashtra”, and banning all religions, could be a solution for all of country’s problems. “Simple solution to all our problems today: declare India as a Hindu Rashtra by amending the constitution and ban all other religions,” Yashwant Sinha tweeted. “Delete non-Hindu history, take revenge for past wrongs against Hindus by Buddhists, Jains, Muslims and Christians,” he added in his tweet.
By Subhechcha Ganguly
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