Assam cattle bill tabled under diktat of RSS: MP Gaurav Gogoi

Gogoi said the new bill was a 'copy' of an act brought in by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday said the Assam government tabled a new Cattle Preservation Bill under the instruction of the RSS and was aimed at diverting people's attention from the BJP-led government's failure to tackle the Covid-19 situation and the rise in prices.

Gogoi, who is a Lok Sabha member from Kaliabor in Assam, told reporters in Guwahati the new bill was a "copy" of an act brought in by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh to stop cattle slaughter.

"Assam has a cattle preservation act since 1950 to regulate cattle slaughter. We don't need a new act. If it wanted some stricter provisions, the government could bring in some amendments. But instead, Himanta Biswa Sarma government has copied and pasted the act of Yogi Adityanath under the instruction of the RSS. This is nothing but a move to divert public attention from the government's failure to tackle the Covid-19 situation and the price rise," Gogoi said.

"The bill has been prepared and presented without consultation with the farmers or other stakeholders," he said.

The Cattle Preservation Bill 2021, tabled in Assam Assembly on Monday, seeks to prohibit the sale of beef in areas predominately inhabited by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and other non-beef eating communities and within a five-kilometre radius of temples and satras (Vaishnavite monasteries).

Also read: Assam's BJP govt tables Bill to prohibit sale of beef in Hindu, Sikh, Jain-dominated areas, near temples

It also has provisions to prohibit the transportation of cattle from and to other states without permit. This, according to the government, was needed to prevent the smuggling of cattle to neighbouring Bangladesh.

However, this provision is likely to anger neighbouring states like Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram, where beef consumption is widespread.

The bill seeks to replace existing The Assam Cattle Preservation Act 1950 claiming that it lacked stringent legal provisions to deal with the issues arising out of slaughter, consumption or transport of cattle.

The 1950 act allows the slaughter of cattle above 14 years of age with proper approval by a local veterinary officer. The new bill also retains the provision but allows slaughter of cattle only in licenced or recognised slaughterhouses.

"We don't need a new act and what we exactly need is government's will to enforce the provisions we have in the 1950 act for regulation of cattle slaughter. Our dairy farmers need cold storage vans, warehouses and support to make sure that dairy sector grows in the right direction," Gaurav said.

Leader of the Opposition, Debabrat Saikia said Congress would seek some amendments in the bill and the party's legal cell was going through it.