By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter
Thiruvananthapuram: The notification issued by the Union Forest and Environment Ministry, banning cattle trade and slaughter across the country might have been welcomed by BJP supporters, but in Kerala it resulted in widespread protests. However, all the protests did not see people marching on streets and shouting slogans against the order. Instead, the protesters organised beef fests across Kerala even as major political parties including CPIM, Congress and IUML expressed their strong dissent against the ban terming it’s an attack on constitutional rights.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the ban is part of a move to implement the RSS agenda in the state. “India is home to various religions and cultures. Plurality is the spirit of Indian democracy. Until now, the Sangh Parivar has been unleashing attacks in different parts of the country over the issue of cow slaughter. The current ban is applicable to bull, ox, buffalo and camel. Crores of people in the country kill these animals for food. With the ban, the Modi government has started to intervene in the eating habits of the citizen,” he said. The current decision also questions the country’s federalism, he added. Besides, it will result in huge employment loss and create shortage of raw material in the leather industry.
He went on to say, “beef eaters don’t have any religion.” He called for countrywide protest against the decision.The Centre should have sought the opinion of states on this matter before imposing a country wide ban, he added. .
Ministers V S Sunilkumar, K T Jaleel and K Raju termed the ban attack on the civil rights. “The ban cannot be accepted and we will look into the legal aspects,” said Minister for Agriculture V S Sunilkumar said.
Indicating that the ban will not be implemented in Kerala, Minister for Local Administration K T Jaleel said, “ the state is being ruled by the LDF Government, which has a track record of taking a stern stand while such attempts are made. Our nation is democratic and follows a federal system which grants some authority to the state. The states should be allowed to exercise their authority,” he added.
Congress leaders also came down heavily against the ban. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president M M Hassan said the ban was latest in the series of fascist moves by Narendra Modi government. IUML state committee termed the ban legally and politically wrong and State general secretary K P A Majeed said the government is trying to intervene in the religious freedom of the citizens.
Meanwhile, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists organized a beef festival in Thiruvananthapuram while another fest was organized by Youth Congress in Kochi in front of BJP’s Eranakulam district committee office. SFI organised beef fest in more than 200 spots across the state.
The notification has also negatively impacted the cattle markets in the state. Even though Ramadan begins from Saturday in Kerala, the prime cattle market at Kuzhalmandam in Palakkad saw no surge in trade and according to media reports, the outlook for the market looks grim for the time being.