New Delhi: Minister of State for Tourism Alphons Kannanthanam on Saturday said the government's stand is that people have a right to make their own choices, be it in terms of speech or their food.


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"It is a democracy, it is the people who make choices, that is freedom.


"So in a democracy it is the people who decide what they should speak, what clothes they should wear and what kind of food they should eat and that exactly is the stand of the government," Alphons said on the sidelines of an event, days after taking over as the new tourism minister.


On the first day in his new office, bureaucrat-turned- politician Kannanthanam had touched upon the controversial issue of beef, saying it would continue to be consumed in Kerala.


Talking to PTI, the 1979 Kerala cadre officer had said that the BJP had never said that beef cannot be eaten.


A controversy had erupted following a notification banning the sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets in May. This along with ban on cow slaughter in many states was cited by opposition parties to allege that the government was trying to impose certain food habits.


However, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan had said that the issues related to the notification will be resolved soon.


The Madras High Court had stayed the notification and later the Supreme Court had extended it to the entire country. The Centre had told the court that it would come up with an amended notification.