TCN Special Correspondent
Ahmadabad: Palitana Municipal Committee buckling under the pressure of the Jain religious leadership on Friday passed a resolution in its general body to ban the sale of meat and other non-vegetarian food, including eggs, within the municipal limits. The decision would be implemented after inviting objections from the residents of the town with a population of over one lakh, with 25 per cent of it being Muslims.
According to the local government officials, about 40 per cent of the town population is non-vegetarian. A municipal official told this reporter that apart from Muslims, many Hindu communities like Kolis are also non-veg and opposing the decision. Out of two non-veg hotels in the town, one is run by a Sindhi Hindu and another by a Muslim.
BJP leader and municipality president Pravinbhai Gadhvi told the mediapersons that the decision was taken following the demand of the Jain religious leadership. He said that some Jain religious leaders led by Maharajsaheb Maitriprabhasagar in March this year had sat on a dharna demanding ban of meat in the town. He had threatened to self-immolate himself if the municipality did not accept the demand.
Gadhvi said that the municipality passed the resolution on Friday to bring a ban. However, before implementing the decision, the municipality would collect objections from the residents and then recommend to the state government to issue a notification imposing the ban.
BJP is in majority in the municipality, occupying 30 seats in a house of 36. Six Congress members led by Hidabhai Baloch, a Muslim, boycotted the resolution. However, Baloch refused to make any comment when contacted.
Municipality’s chief executive officer J L Dave said: “We will invite objections from the people as it is a policy matter. We can’t take a decision on our own. Depending on the response of the people, we will write to the state government”. He said that everything would depend on the reactions of the people to the municipality.
Another official said that Friday’s decision was taken by the municipality under political pressure as Jains were politically very
influential in the state and contributed a lot to the BJP election coffers. However, the official said that the decision for a ban was not as per constitutional provisions.
Muslim residents of the town fear that if the ban is implemented, they would also not be allowed slaughter animals during Baqrid which is their religious duty. They say that the decision is in favour of one community, overlooking the religious responsibilities of the other.
They have requested the administration not to buckle under the pressure of Jains who do not account for even five per cent of the town’s population. Palitana is a well-known Jain pilgrim town, with thousands of Jain visiting the temple every year. Palitana is about 70 kms from Bhavnagar about 400 kms from Ahmadabad.