Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh has taken a decisive step against the illegal issuance of 'Halal Certificates.
The state government issued an order that forbade the production, storage, distribution, and sale of food products with Halal certification with immediate effect, following Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's taking cognizance of the issue.
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.
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 labeled with Halal certification.
Additionally, certain medicines, medical devices, and cosmetic products are reported to feature the Halal certificate on their packaging or labeling.
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 offense.
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.
An FIR in this regard was registered with the Lucknow Commissionerate last Friday.
According 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 has 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 and anti-national elements.
The complainant further alleges 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. (UNI)