8 Congress workers held for killing calf in Kerala

THE YOUTH CONGRESS LEADERS HAD LATER ADMITTED THAT THEY MADE A MISTAKE WITH THE DEMONSTRATIONS.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala police arrested eight workers of the Youth Congress on Thursday, who allegedly slaughtered a calf in Kannur last week to protest the Centre’s new notification on cattle trade.

The incident triggered outrage, and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had dubbed it a “thoughtless and barbaric act”.

The Congress later suspended three people, including Rejil Makutty, who led the crowd, from the party.

The activists allegedly slaughtered the animal in the heart of the north Kerala city, while shouting slogans against the Narendra Modi government. They later cooked the meat and distributed it.

Cows are considered holy by Hindus, and Saturday’s slaughtering boomeranged on the Congress when Kerala BJP president Kummanan Rajasekharan posted a video of the demonstration. A number of BJP leaders spoke up against the issue, including the chief ministers of Gujarat and UP.

The youth Congress leaders admitted that they made a mistake with the demonstrations.

Sources said they thought beef festivals had become common, and a slaughter-and-cook demonstration would have been something unusual.

Kerala is ruled by a Left government, one of the strongest critics of the BJP. Its CM Pinarayi Vijayan, and his Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, were among the most prominent critics of the notification issued last week.