In a significant decision which was cheered by the Hindu seers, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a complete ban on the sale of meat and liquor in Mathura, the land of Lord Krishna, and suggested that those engaged in their trade should instead sell milk keeping in view the glorious tradition of the religious town.
According to the sources, the state government is mulling a similar ban in all the religious towns, including Ayodhya, Chitrakoot and some others.
Speaking at a function after paying obeisance at the famous Banke Bihari Temple at Mathura on the occasion of 'Krishna Janmashthami' on Monday, Adityanath asked the district officials to draw up a plan to 'rehabilitate' the meat and liquor sellers in other traders.
''It is essential to ban the sale of liquor and meat to preserve the cultural and spiritual glory of Mathura....those engaged in the trades can start selling milk, which has been the tradition of this place,'' Adityanath said.
Sources here said that a similar ban could be imposed on the sale of meat and liquor in Ayodhya, Chitrakoot and some other religious towns as well.
Hindu seers and saints in Ayodhya hailed the decision and said that it would go a long way in preserving the age-old traditions of Hinduism. ''It is a welcome step...we have been demanding the same for the past many years,'' said Raju Das, the Mahant (religious head) of the famous Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya on Tuesday.
Political analysts said that the decision was intended to 'please' the saint community in the state, which always favoured a complete ban on the sale of meat and alcohol in all religious towns.
Top BJP leaders, including union home minister Amit Shah, have been focussing on the UP government's efforts to revive the glory of the Hindu religious places at their meetings in the state. Only recently Shah had said at a public meeting in Mirzapur that no other government had paid attention to the Hindu religious places.
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