<p>Tension prevailed outside the Town Hall, where the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) organised a protest on Thursday against the Central government’s proposal to bring nationwide ban on cow slaughter. Among those in attendance were Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad, writer and political thinker K Marulasiddappa and Mavalli Shankar of the Dalit Sangharsha Samithi. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The event soon turned into a public display of beef-eating with beef kebabs being served. Police, however, confiscated the beef delicacies apprehending danger to law and order as more than 40 BJP workers also reached the spot to hold a counter-protest in support of the government. <br /><br />At the pro-beef protest, young volunteers and poets read poetry besides distributing cooked beef for those who wished to eat it. But as soon as beef-eating began, policemen confiscated the food items. To prevent the situation from going out of control, they took protesters from both the sides into preventive custody. <br /><br />Earlier, addressing the pro-beef protesters, Karnad said the Centre must not create non-existent crimes by making new laws. The government knows its proposal to ban beef will, and it wants to, hurt and provoke people, he charged. “By making a law that makes beef-eating illegal, the government is creating a new crime: beef-eating,” he suggested. Marulasiddappa endorsed Karnad’s views. <br /><br />Karnad, though refrained from eating beef, said: “It’s my right not to eat beef and that must be respected. Also, my message is that I am not a beef-eater but I support beef-eating as it is part of many cultures.” <br /><br />The DYFI described the Centre’s proposal as “undemocratic and against the Constitution of India”. Its State secretary B Rajashekhara Murthy said attacking people’s food habits was “nothing but attacking human rights”. He said that imposing religious practices on the whole population was “against Constitutional rights”. <br /><br />Officer-bearers of Sri Ram Sene, Bengaluru, and Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha had moved the court against the pro-beef protest. They claimed that pamphlets distributed among the public on the matter had “hurt the sentiments of Hindus”. <br /><br />A police officer said the DYFI was given permission to stage a protest in front of the Town Hall against the beef ban. “But we found that its volunteers had brought beef dishes and were trying to eat them. This is not allowed as no one can prove their point by public display. Hence, the food items were confiscated,” he added. <br /> </p>
<p>Tension prevailed outside the Town Hall, where the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) organised a protest on Thursday against the Central government’s proposal to bring nationwide ban on cow slaughter. Among those in attendance were Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad, writer and political thinker K Marulasiddappa and Mavalli Shankar of the Dalit Sangharsha Samithi. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The event soon turned into a public display of beef-eating with beef kebabs being served. Police, however, confiscated the beef delicacies apprehending danger to law and order as more than 40 BJP workers also reached the spot to hold a counter-protest in support of the government. <br /><br />At the pro-beef protest, young volunteers and poets read poetry besides distributing cooked beef for those who wished to eat it. But as soon as beef-eating began, policemen confiscated the food items. To prevent the situation from going out of control, they took protesters from both the sides into preventive custody. <br /><br />Earlier, addressing the pro-beef protesters, Karnad said the Centre must not create non-existent crimes by making new laws. The government knows its proposal to ban beef will, and it wants to, hurt and provoke people, he charged. “By making a law that makes beef-eating illegal, the government is creating a new crime: beef-eating,” he suggested. Marulasiddappa endorsed Karnad’s views. <br /><br />Karnad, though refrained from eating beef, said: “It’s my right not to eat beef and that must be respected. Also, my message is that I am not a beef-eater but I support beef-eating as it is part of many cultures.” <br /><br />The DYFI described the Centre’s proposal as “undemocratic and against the Constitution of India”. Its State secretary B Rajashekhara Murthy said attacking people’s food habits was “nothing but attacking human rights”. He said that imposing religious practices on the whole population was “against Constitutional rights”. <br /><br />Officer-bearers of Sri Ram Sene, Bengaluru, and Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha had moved the court against the pro-beef protest. They claimed that pamphlets distributed among the public on the matter had “hurt the sentiments of Hindus”. <br /><br />A police officer said the DYFI was given permission to stage a protest in front of the Town Hall against the beef ban. “But we found that its volunteers had brought beef dishes and were trying to eat them. This is not allowed as no one can prove their point by public display. Hence, the food items were confiscated,” he added. <br /> </p>
