Kerala explores options against cattle trade rule
LEFT VIEW CM writes to PM, says Centre can’t change food habits
The Left-ruled Kerala is exploring legal options to tide over Centre’s new regulation on cattle trade even as several youth outfits organised beef festivals at many places on Saturday in protest.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/LUCKNOW: As Left-ruled Kerala is exploring legal options to tide over the new cattle regulation, traders claim the ban will reduce supply of meat during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan starting from Sunday and will impact lives of millions of Muslims and Dalits.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to the Prime Minister saying the Centre cannot prepare menus and change food habits of people.
“Today it is saying you can’t eat beef, tomorrow it can say no to fish also. We will not allow this to happen in our state,” said the CM, as his government approaches legal experts to explore ways to overcome the new notification.
Vijayan said the rule will lead to loss of job in Kerala where at least five lakh people are directly or indirectly involved in cattle trade, slaughter houses and allied areas.
In a protest against the ban, youth organisations, including the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DFYI) and the Youth Congress, organised beef festivals at many places.
“The government is enforcing the agenda of RSS. It is out to vitiate the secular fabric of the country,” said DFYI all-India president Mohamed Riaz. The Congress will observe a black day on Monday.
Mohammed Shabuddin Quraishi, president of Quraish welfare foundation that represents around 50,000 meat traders of Lucknow, said, “It’s a clear interference in nature’s food cycle and nobody has right to do so, not even Modi government.”
In Lucknow and Kanpur, traders say they will start protests as they have been left with no options.
Haji Dilshad Ahmed, president of Jamiat-ul-Quraishi Gareeb Nawaaz, the body representing meat traders in Kanpur, said the new rule will reduce meat production during Ramzan in UP, which accounted for the highest beef export in 2016-17.
In north-east, where sale of beef is allowed, traders say it could lead to loss of job for many.
Though most parts of meat-consuming northeast swear by pork, states such as Meghalaya feel the shortage of beef because of proximity to the Bangladesh border where cattle are smuggled out.