By IANS,
New Delhi : Protesting a reported case of animal sacrifice carried out by a Samajwadi Party leader, the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has written to the party’s leaders that the act “tarnishes their triumph” in the recent floor test in parliament.
PETA-India chief functionary Anuradha Sawhney in her letter to Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and its general secretary Amar Singh said: “We hope that you will consider the enormous influence you have over masses and, in the future, refrain from cruel acts that your followers might be inspired to imitate.”
She said: ”Our office has been flooded with phone calls and emails from people who are horrified by reports that Samajwadi Party Madhya Pradesh unit secretary Kishore Samrite sacrificed animals on your behalf at the Kamakhya temple at Guwahati.”
“Killing an animal to celebrate your victory in parliament hardly seems to adhere to the spirit of this law,” Sawhney’s letter said.
The Samajwadi Party supported the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in the floor test July 21-22. The Manmohan Singh government won the crucial trust vote.
“I hope that, upon reflection, you have come to regret your party member’s decision to sacrifice animals, which will only tarnish your triumph in the past parliament trust vote with this blatant show of cruelty to animals,” she said.
Noting that animal sacrifice has no place in Indian culture, she said that even “sacrifices” that claim to be ancient practices like sati, child marriage and caste differentiation have been strictly banned because they are seen as “cruel and exploitative”.
She said animal sacrifices have been specifically banned in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Sawhney said: “Individuals should show kindness and compassion towards all living beings.”
She added that PETA would be “more than happy to partner” with the party “to spread the message of compassion to the masses”.