JOIN USCattle slaughter ban: Khader, Ivan pooh-pooh new rules
Food and Civil Supplies Minister U T Khader and MLC Ivan D’Souza said the new set of rules to regulate animal markets, introduced by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, is detrimental to farmers.
Both leaders dared the Union government to impose ban on beef export and provide subsidies to farmers.
Addressing media persons, MLC and the state government’s chief whip in Legislative Council Ivan D’Souza said the new rule will burden the poor farmers as they will be restricted to sell the cows which have stopped milking. The farmers cannot rear such cows. The Union government, instead of framing new rules, should have constructed cattle sheds, he felt.
He said there is also a hidden agenda to stop the businesses of the minorities who are depending on beef market. The Union government has also been stifling the food rights of a certain communities, on the pretext of the new rules. Framing a law on cow slaughter is the prerogative of the state government, he claimed.
In a separate press meet, Food and Civil Supplies Minister U T Khader said the new set of rules on regulation of animal markets lacks clarity and dared the government to impose a ban on the export of beef, if it really wants to protect cattle.
The new rule is framed to be concurrent to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. But, the new set of rules overlaps several valid points in the Act. For instance,in the new rule, there is no mention of the age of the cattle, which can be sold to the markets. Also, the APMC Act has not been taken into consideration.
The Central government is only making fools out of people by framing such meaningless rules to conceal its failures and eying on the vote bank, he charged.
Useless cows cannot be sold to the market according to the new rules. If the government wants to protect the cows and wants to prove its credibility, it should ban beef export to foreign countries, construct cow sheds and provide subsidy to farmers for rearing cattle, he said.
The government’s decision has created a lot of confusions. Vested interests waiting to misuse the situations of this kind to create instability in the system.
With the imposition of new rules, the state's power is curtailed and the federal structure is disturbed. Solidarity and brotherhood of the state will be adversely affected, he said.