On 11th December 2022, Congress supporter and political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla tweeted a video in which he was seen enjoying food items sent by BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga from his restaurant ‘Kulhad Biryani’. However, an innocuous tweet from Poonawalla thanking Tajinder Bagga for the food didn’t go down well with many followers of Tehseen Poonawalla.
While some people attacked him for accepting food sent by a BJP leader, many Islamists on Twitter had a problem with him for eating ‘jhatka’ biryani sent by Bagga.
Tehseen Poonawalla tweeted, “So Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga sent me some of the dishes from Kulhad Biryani cause Sunday is a cheat day but I was at the office working & on tv. I have to say- the food was outstanding. Well done Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga. I started with the Butter Chicken. Little spicy with a hint of sweetness that is the Butter Chicken from Kulhad Biryani. It was sealed in an earthen bowl, as was the Biryani.”
So @TajinderBagga sent me some of the dishes from @KulhadBiryani cause Sunday is a cheat day but I was at office working & on tv. I have to say- the food was outstanding. Well done @TajinderBagga 🙌
— Tehseen Poonawalla Official 🇮🇳 (@tehseenp) December 11, 2022
I started with the Butter Chicken. Little spicy with a hint of sweetness pic.twitter.com/EY6Qk5X5GE
He added in the next tweet, “The Butter Chicken had the right texture, a little spicy a hint of sweetness & the parathas were yummilicous! Outstanding!! Next I went for the Chicken Biryani. The rice was great quality basmati rice, the Chicken was flavourful, it was accompanied by Mirchi ki salan & raita and for the record Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga sent me Hyderabadi Biryani! Fantabulous!”
However, Poonawalla was bizarrely attacked just for sharing the images of the food that he obviously found quite enjoyable as evident from his tweet. Immediately, he was declared a BJP member because he ate the food sent by a BJP leader.
Twitter user Zaker Pathan wrote, “Good to know now are u in BJP… When will be the official announcement.” Replying to him, Tehseen Poonawalla asked, “Dude what has food got to do with BJP?”
Dude what has food got to do with BJP ?
— Tehseen Poonawalla Official 🇮🇳 (@tehseenp) December 11, 2022
Soon enough, the main concern of people attacking Poonawalla became whether the chicken was jhatka or halal. A Twitter user Yusuph Khan asked, “Did you check that it was a halal or not because he is selling jhatka biryani.”
Did you check that it was a halal or not because he is selling jatka briyani
— yusuphkhan (@yusuphkhan1) December 11, 2022
Another Twitter user Musa wrote, “Jhatka Meat..Beef..Chicken Is Haram In Islam..We Have Warned Many Times..Beware Of The Choonawalas..They Represent Muslims On Tv..Like Great Grandson Of Allama..Mufti Maulana Fazle Haq Khairabadi R.A..Spk About Javed Akhtar etc. They Should Say ..We Are Not Muslims On TV!”
Jhatka Meat..Beef..Chicken Is Haram In Islam..We Have Warned Many Times..Beware Of The Choonawalas..They Represent Muslims On Tv..Like Great Grandson Of Allama..Mufti Maulana Fazle Haq Khairabadi R.A..Spk About @Javedakhtarjadu Etc. They Should Say ..We Are Not Muslims On TV! https://t.co/1b8BsQMP1b
— iAmMusa (@onlyursmusa) December 11, 2022
in one of the replies, Tehseen Poonawalla said that he did not know whether it was a jhatka biryani or halal and that he is an atheist.
Did not ask ! I am an atheist
— Tehseen Poonawalla Official 🇮🇳 (@tehseenp) December 11, 2022
Some Twitter users started wondering if Poonawalla is becoming a ‘hater’ since he enjoyed the Biryani and Butter Chicken. One such user Syed Rafi posted, “Nowadays, you are liking many things of Hindutva brigade, Muslim haters, and humanity haters a lot. I know You claim to be an Atheist & Humanist. Pls, don’t become a Hater like Taslima & Tariq Fatah. Javed Sahab & Naseer Sir are also Atheists. We respect them as they don’t hate anyone.”
Aaj kal aapko Hindutva Brigade, Muslim aur Humanity Haters ke kaafi cheezen pasand aarahi hain
— Syed Rafi – నేను తెలుగు ‘వాడి’ని. (@syedrafi) December 11, 2022
I know You claim to be an Atheist & Humanist. Pls don’t become a Hater like Taslima & Tariq Fatah
Javed Sahab & Naseer Sir are also Atheists. We respect them as they don’t hate anyone
One Adnan Ali Khan wrote, “Brother of Mr Anand Ranganathan ( biggest islamophobic bigot ) enjoying Biryani sent by another brother ( fm other mother) .. Mr Bagga ( gali vaala hate monger ) .. when the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends”
Brother of Mr Anand Ranganathan ( biggest islamophobic bigot ) enjoying Biryani sent by another brother ( fm other mother) .. Mr Bagga ( gali vaala hate monger ) .. “ when the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends “ … https://t.co/akBKSTj8eD
— ਅਦਨਾਨ ਅਲੀ ਖਾਨ ( عدنان علی خان ) (@AdnanAliKhan555) December 11, 2022
Poonawalla kept trying to clarify his stand by replying to these tweets and also shared that he works with people from diverse political backgrounds (like Tajinder Bagga from BJP). He also mentioned that he is an ‘influencer’ and he does this as a hobby. However, his followers online don’t seem to accept his stand, and continued to troll him.
