More voices join chorus against ban on sale of cattle for slaughter

The clamour against the Union Environment Ministry’s decision to regulate cattle trade gained in strength with Opposition parties such as the Trinamool Congress and the DMK joined the chorus on Monday.

Meanwhile, principal Opposition party Congress found itself on the backfoot after its youth activists publicly slaughtered a calf in Kannur, Kerala. Though the party suspended its workers, the BJP and the Sangh Parivar used the issue to attack the Opposition.

Taking on the BJP-led Central government, BSP supremo Mayawati said attacks against Dalits and Muslims had increased during the Narendra Modi regime. “Dalits and Muslims are being targeted in the name of cow protection. Attacks against them have increased. This is a gift for Dalits and minorities from the Modi government,” she said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared in Kolkata that her government would not accept the Centre’s notification. She termed it “undemocratic and unconstitutional”, and said it would be challenged legally. “It is a deliberate attempt to encroach on the State’s powers,” Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata. “We don’t accept the ban. We will challenge it legally. We will consult the State’s Advocate General on this matter,” Banerjee added.

Protests were held in several parts of Tamil Nadu, including Madurai, Coimbatore, Erode and Hosur. Several activists of a little known pro-Tamil outfit were detained in Madurai, where they had organised a beef-eating contest. A group of students at IIT, Madras, held a ‘beef-fest’ on the campus on Sunday night.

Raising the pitch on the issue, Opposition parties urged the AIADMK government to enact a law against the ban. Main Opposition DMK slammed the E Palaniswami government for “keeping mum” on the matter when neighbouring Kerala and Karnataka had vehemently opposed the ban. DMK Working President MK Stalin will lead a protest march against the ban on Wednesday, the party said.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi too condemned the public slaughter of the calf in Kerala, terming it ‘barbaric’. “What happened in Kerala yesterday [on Sunday] is thoughtless, barbaric and completely unacceptable to me and the Congress. I strongly condemn the incident,” he tweeted. Following this, three Youth Congress workers Rijil Makkutty, Joshi Kandathil and Sharafuddin were suspended from the Congress.

In a statement issued on Monday, Randeep Singh Surjewala, the Congress’ Chief Spokesperson, said the party’s culture abjures any kind of violence or barbarism against every living being, much less the ‘cow’, which has a special place in the hearts and mind of people of India. “The horrific incident in Kerala is reprehensible and absolutely condemnable. Such action is alien to our way of life. Such elements have no place in the Congress party. The Youth Congress has therefore suspended the so-called activists,” Surjewala said.

He said the BJP, however, is trying to regressively play politics of polarisation to divert attention from its anti-Dalit atrocities and alleged practice of untouchability by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. “It is tragic that Adityanath’s administration forced the poorest of the poor of Dalit community of ‘Musahar’ to first bathe with soap, sprinkle perfume so as to allegedly avoid the bad odour emanating from their ‘dirty clothes’, as he visited them,” Surjewala said.

He said the BJP’s governments at the Centre and in Goa jointly run a slaughterhouse in the State. “What does the BJP national leadership have to say on this?” he asked.

Surjewala also cited the instance of Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who had stated that he consumes beef, and that of UP Minister Sangeet Som founding Al-Dua Food Processing Private Ltd in 2005 to deal in meat and meat products. “What is the opinion of Adityanath on the same as he has inducted Sangeet Som as a senior Cabinet Minister,” Surjewala asked. “Doublespeak and deception won’t do. BJP must give clear answers to people of India,” he said, adding that beef exports had also increased during Modi’s tenure as Chief Minister in Gujarat.