Yogi Adityanath bans sale of meat on birth anniversaries of 'great personalities'

In what the opposition parties termed an attempt aimed at garnering support of the majority community, especially the seers, the Uttar Pradesh government ordered closure of slaughterhouses and banned sale of meat in the state on the birth anniversaries of great religious and other personalities.

The government officials said that the slaughterhouses would remain closed on birth anniversaries of Lord Mahavira, Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi and Shivratri. "The meat shops will also remain closed on these days," said a senior government official here on Thursday.

The official said that the decision was taken keeping in view the message of non-violence given by all these great icons. "It has been decided to celebrate their anniversaries as non-violence days," he added.

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The decision comes close on the heels of a complete ban on the sale of meat and liquor in Mathura, the land of Lord Krishna. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath had, while announcing the ban, then suggested that those engaged in their trade should instead sell milk keeping in view the tradition of the religious town.

"It is essential to ban 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 had said.

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.

The political analysts and the opposition parties 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 that no other government had paid so much attention to the Hindu religious places.

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