BJP warns of agitation if govt tinkers with cow Act in Karnataka

The Karnataka BJP on Sunday said it would launch a statewide agitation if the ruling Congress attempts to tamper with the existing provisions of the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act (KPSPCA).

The warning comes a day after Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh ignited a row by questioning the ban on cow slaughter when it didn't extend to buffaloes.

Addressing a press conference, BJP general secretary N Ravi Kumar said that the KPSPCA came into effect in 2021 and its provisions were well thought out.

The Act, Ravi said, was aimed at implementing Mahatma Gandhi’s vision — banning slaughter of cows in the country.

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“Even the Congress had enacted similar Act of banning cow slaughter in 1948 and 1964," he contended. "Now the neo-Congress has forgotten about it. For Hindus, a cow is not just any animal; it is no less than a mother goddess. Therefore, the BJP will continue to oppose any move to replace existing Act or removal of any provisions.”

In a series of tweets condemning the minister’s statement, Basavaraj Bommai said that Indians are emotionally connected with cows.

“The Animal Husbandry Minister's statement is shocking. We condemn his statement," he said and wondered whom the minister was trying to please.

“I don’t know if the minister made this statement hoping to seek a change in his portfolio or to please the Congress high command,” he quipped, adding that the minister's statement would lead to "large-scale smuggling" and "mass slaughtering" of cows in the state.

BJP leader and former animal husbandry minister Prabhu Chavan also echoed the same, saying cows are held "sacred" by Hindus and went on to highlight the erstwhile BJP government's efforts to safeguard the animal.

"If the Act is revoked, all our efforts will be washed away,” he said.

Soon after the Congress won elections in the state, Amnesty India sought review and repeal discriminatory provisions in the KPSPCA and the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2022, which can be misused and weaponised against minorities.