Headlines
Bulls, bullocks to join anti-beef ban procession in Mumbai
Mumbai, May 2
Major political parties and
social and community organisations will take out a procession here on
Tuesday along with bulls and bullocks to protest the ban on beef in
Maharashtra, an organiser said on Saturday.
"People connected
with the beef industry, including farmers, shall walk with the symbolic
presence of some bulls and bullocks from Byculla to Azad Maidan
demanding lifting of the ban on beef," said Vijay Dalvi, secretary of
the Mutton Butchers Union Sarvashramik Sangh.
The procession will be led by Republican Sena president Anandraj Ambedkar.
Republican
Party of India city chief Gautam Sonawane, Congress leader Naseem Khan,
Nationalist Congress Party leaders Jitendra Awhad and Sachin Ahir, and
leaders of CITU, CPI, CPI-M, Lal Nishan Party and several other unions,
social and community groups will take part in the march.
Dalvi
said that presently, the beef ban has directly hit over 800,000 people
engaged in the industry, besides many more in allied industries like
leather products, beef packaging and processing plants.
"Besides,
the prices of other non-vegetarian products like chicken, mutton and
fish are increasing, making it difficult for all sections of people,
including non-beef consumers.
"Presently, barely a few dozen
buffaloes which yield the inferior quality carabeef are being
slaughtered, but it cannot cater to the huge demand for beef," Dalvi
said.
Refering to the recent demand from some quarters on
slaughter of Jersey cows, which Hindus do not consider as holy, Dalvi
said they were opposed to slaughter of any cow breed, whether Indian, or
foreign.
However, they were open to slaughter of Jersey bulls or bullocks and urged the state government to consider it.
In
April, a Bombay High Court division bench comprising Justice V.M.
Kanade and Justice M.S. Sonak declined to suspend certain provisions of
the recent law banning beef consumption, possession or transportation
even if the animal was slaughtered outside Maharashtra.
The court
was hearing three PILs challenging the Maharashtra Animal Preservation
(Amendment) Act's Section 5(d) and 9(a), which prohibit possession,
transportation and consumption, and the petitioners contended that this
even bans transportation of beef from other states and sought an
injunction on these sections.
The high court directed the state
not to initiate any coercive action against traders found possessing or
transporting beef till the pendency of the petition, or for three
months, whichever is earlier, though FIRs can be lodged.
Adopting
a lenient view, the judges observed that the Act was introduced
suddenly and the traders did not have reasonable time to dispose off
their stocks.
The court also urged the state not to intrude on
citizens' privacy if they were found in possession of beef in any form,
but declined a blanket ban on the provisions of the new act.
In
March, President Pranab Mukherjee granted assent to the bill banning the
sale or possession of beef in the state with stringent penalties.
The
slaughter of cows had already been prohibited in the state under the
Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, 1976. The new Act goes a step
further by banning slaughter of bulls and bullocks, which was previously
permitted on a fit-for-slaughter certificate.
Under the new Act,
only slaughter of water buffaloes, which yields carabeef, considered an
inferior quality meat, has been allowed.