A BJP leader in Meghalaya has announced a beef party to celebrate three years of the Narendra Modi government, prompting the party to threaten to sack him on a day it struggled to cope with a snowballing issue by clarifying that states can have their own laws on cattle slaughter that echo "local habits".
"Garo Hills BJP to organise bitchi-beef party to celebrate three years of Modi Government," Bachu Chambugong Marak, president of the BJP's North Garo Hills district, posted on his Facebook page. Bitchi is the Garo term for rice beer.
This BJP leader in Meghalaya also said on Monday said his party will not ban beef and legalise slaughterhouses if it comes to power, thus reducing the prices of various meat. The post brought to the fore the diversity of India and the challenge the Centre will face if it tries to enforce the new cattle rules across the country.
"In Meghalaya, most BJP leaders eat beef. The question of banning beef does not arise in a state like Meghalaya. BJP leaders in Meghalaya are well aware of the historical background and the Constitutional provisions over hill areas," BJP leader Bernard Marak said. The former militant-turned-politician said: "If BJP comes to power in 2018, BJP will not ban beef. Instead, it will regulate proper rates for meat and legalise slaughterhouses, reducing the prices of beef and other meat."
"Beef is an expensive meat which cannot be availed by all. The government has failed to regularise uniformity in rates of meats which is harassment to the public," he said.
Noting that Meghalaya does not have proper slaughterhouses to check the meat sold at market places, Marak said: "People are exposed to unhygienic edibles and sometimes chemical substances are induced in them which is consumed by the old and young."
He reportedly also said the BJP will do everything that the Congress government failed to by establishing slaughterhouses, checking meat quality and bringing down meat prices.
Several states, including Trinamul-ruled Bengal and Left-ruled Tripura, have said they would not implement the rules that ban the sale of cattle in markets for slaughter.
The issue of eating beef, selling it and sale and slaughter of animals has received much attention of the RSS-led government at the centre. The May 23 controversial Ban on Cattle Sale Rules invoked by the Union Environmental Ministry have also drawn criticism and mixed reactions. A student of IIT Chennai was thrashed for simply attending a discussion on the Beef Ban.
The Courts have also reacted differently to this ban. While the Madras High Court has stayed operation of the controversial ban on sale order, the Rajasthan government has in fact asked for the cow to be declared a national animal!
(Reports from Telegraph and IANS)