GUJARAT GOVERNMENT PLANS LIFE SENTENCE FOR COW KILLING

Cow slaughter and transportation of beef in Gujarat may soon attract life imprisonment as the BJP government is mulling possibly the harshest law in the country to “protect” the cattle.

Though a bill to this effect is yet to be tabled in the assembly, the issue has already become the central theme of chief minister Vijay Rupani’s public speeches amid speculations that the party will push for an early state elections.

Buoyed by the BJP’s landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh, the party believes that enacting a stricter cow protection law will help consolidate votes in the elections to be held in the backdrop of Patidar agitation for reservation in government jobs and colleges.

“We fought a case in the SC to bring a law in Gujarat to protect cows. Now, we want to make the law stricter. We will introduce a bill in the ongoing Budget session of the assembly,” Rupani said on March 12 at a function organised by Swaminarayan Sect in Junagadh. A significant number of Patidars, or Patels – a crucial vote bank of the BJP – are followers of the sect.

On March 15, Rupani again raised the issue while speaking at a Tribal Fair in Chhota Udepur. “The BJP is committed to protect Gau, Ganga and Gita (Bhagvad Gita). And, for the same we are bringing a stricter law,” he said.

In 2011, the state government had banned slaughtering and transportation of cow and progeny by amending the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act, 1954. Under the Act, offenders face imprisonment up to 7 years and fine up to ₹50,000. Sources say the new bill proposes life imprisonment and fine up to ₹1 lakh.