Newly appointed Tourism minister Alphons Kannanthanam on Monday said that India has a vast tourism potential and the country can go far beyond the ‘Incredible India.’ He also talked about the controversial issue of beef, saying that the BJP has never said that beef can’t be eaten. He said it would continue to be consumed in Kerala.
On the future strategy of his ministry, the minister said India can take over the world as it is a 5,000-year-old civilization. “We can go much much beyond incredible India. We want to create an India where we love ourselves, love a clean India and its history. Then we tell the world, come and see us,” said the 1979 batch IAS officer.
The newly appointed minister also referred to Goa CM saying, “As Goa chief minister, Manohar Parrikar has said that beef will be consumed in the state. Similarly, it will be consumed in Kerala,” he said.
Talking to media-persons, Kannanthanam said if a BJP-ruled state like Goa was eating beef, there should be no problem in Kerala.
Speaking about the concerns that were raised by the Christian community about the BJP in the past, Kannanthanam said it was mere propaganda. “A lot of propaganda were made in 2014, that if Modi comes to power Christians will be burnt or churches will be demolished. The prime minister has made it clear that believe whatever you want, I will protect you. The PM has done a fantastic job in taking everyone along,” he said adding that he could be a bridge between the Christian community and the BJP.
Old association with predecessor Mahesh Sharma was palpable on Monday when the bureaucrat-turned-politician refused to sit in his designated chair, He waited for almost an hour for Sharma to arrive and hand him charge of the ministry.
“ Maheshji has been a friend and well-wisher for a long time. He has done a good job in tourism and culture and I am happy that I get to start where he left off,” he said.
Kannanthanam, a Kerala cadre officer, first shot to limelight during his tenure with the Delhi Development Authority in the ’90s and earned the sobriquet ‘demolition man’ after he got scores of illegal constructions demolished.
