By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Mumbai: Raising slogans against the BJP-Shiv Sena government, several butchers, beef dealers, caretakers of cattle at slaughterhouses, packagers and farmers participated in a protest demonstration against government’s move of blanket ban on beef possession and sale in Maharashtra.
The protest was jointly organised here at Azad Maidan on Tuesday by the Sarv Shramik Sangh, All India Jamiatul Quresh and Mumbai Suburban Beef Dealers Association.
![Beef dealers protesting in Azad Maidan, Mumbai on March 10, 2015 against Beef Ban by Government [Courtesy : UrduTimes]](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8746/16578543947_e62b5b62c8_z.jpg)
Beef dealers protesting in Azad Maidan, Mumbai on March 10, 2015 against Beef Ban by Government [Courtesy : UrduTimes]
The protesters raised slogans over enforcement of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995 that makes slaughtering of cow, bulls and bullocks as a punishable offence.
The angry protesters claimed that the right wing activists spread rumors in the society that cows are slaughtered in the state whereas no cow is slaughtered anywhere in the state. They alleged such activists made it a religious issue and thereby misguided the government in making this law that even bans slaughtering of bulls and bullocks.
Newspaper Indian Express quoted Vijay Dalvi, secretary of the Sarv Shramik Sangh, as saying, “This ban was enforced without any discussion with workers and beef dealers. We are also offended that statements that cow slaughter is happening at Deonar and other slaughterhouses. There are no cows killed at Deonar or anywhere else. So political parties should stop adding religious colour to this. This ban does not only affect the Muslims, it affects a larger community, including Hindus, who are involved in meat packaging, cosmetics made from the cattle parts and the leather industry.”
Urdu Times, a Mumbai-based Urdu language daily, quoted Kapil Patil, MLC, as: “(Mughal King) Babur used to respect other religions and hence he banned cow slaughtering but Hindus used to slaughter cows during religious ritual of yagya. Cow slaughtering is banned even in Jammu and Kashmir since many years.”
Questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s punch line ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’, activist Firoz Mithiborewala, said: “We will go on hunger strike if the law is not amended. No corporates are getting affected due to this ban but it is the poor people (who are affected). Cow slaughter has been banned and nobody opposes it, but by adding bulls and bullock to the list, the government has hit the poor.”
Deepak Bhalerao, another leader of Sarva Shramik Sangh, an organization of workers at the Deonar abattoir said, as reported by Times of India, “We have inherited this job from our forefathers and we don’t know any other skill. The government has struck at our livelihood.”
Quresh community is the most affected after the ban as beef trading is their traditional business and they are alien to other businesses.
“Our families are starving. Where will we get food from? Did the Fadnavis government think about its impact before it brought the new law?” said Shakil Qureishi.
While the protest was in progress Ranjeet Patil, Minister of state for Urban Development called five member delegation to the Mantralaya and discussed the issue. The delegation informed the minister that the issue should not be given a religious color and that the traders were never involved in cow slaughter but ban over slaughtering of bulls and bullocks need to be lifted as lakhs of people are dependent upon its business.
Activist Milind Ranade told the minister, “It is not a religious matter at all but of bread and butter of poor people. Government is misguided (by some activists) by propagating that cows are slaughtered in the state, cows are never slaughtered. We request you to call us in the meeting when the government discusses this issue.”
Patil told the delegation that the government will discuss the issue as it has understood that it will have a major impact over many businesses and economy.
Even after meeting with the minister, stakeholders are not happy and have decided to continue their state wide protest until the ban is repealed. As a mark of protest, the dealers have also made a decision of not slaughtering water buffaloes even though the new law allows slaughtering of it.
“We have completely stopped slaughter of any buffalo. The ban has hit us hard and we want our regular business to continue, which we cannot because of the ban. So we have decided not to cull anything and all beef dealers in the state have agreed to a complete stop in slaughtering of buffaloes,” said Mohammed Qureshi, president of the Mumbai Suburban Beef Dealers Association.
“We will have another protest march on 24th of this month from Rani Baug of Byculla to Mantralaya,” Dalvi announced.