Under pressure from rising protests, BJP government in Gujarat to reconsider cattle control bill

The Bhupendra Patel-led BJP government is set to reconsider the newly-tabled Gujarat Cattle Control (Keeping and Moving) in Urban Areas Bill, 2022 passed last week after coming under pressure from the Maldhari (cattle rearing) community.

The community has been protesting against the Bill, which seeks to curb the cattle menace in corporations and municipalities.

A day after Gujarat BJP president C R Paatil told mediapersons that he had requested the chief minister to "reconsider" implementation of the Bill, the state government in a press briefing on Tuesday said an "appropriate decision" on the contentious Bill will be taken on Wednesday after the conclusion of a meeting between the chief minister and representatives of Maldhari community.

Also Read | Gujarat Assembly passes bill to tackle stray cattle menace in urban areas

With the atmosphere of the Assembly election heating up, the BJP is finding itself in a tight spot due to rising protests. Earlier, the ruling party announced that it had halted the Par-Tapi-Narmada river linking project following widespread protest from tribal organisations.

The fresh crisis is deepening with the passing of the new Bill, which, if ratified, will make it mandatory to have a licence from a municipal corporation or municipality for keeping cattle, including buffaloes and cows, among others. Breach of this provision will attract one-year jail or a fine of up to Rs 20,000, or both. The owners will also have to give proof of cattle shed, without which the licence will not be processed.

Similarly, assaulting officials during impounding of stray cattle will have one-year jail or a fine up to Rs 1 lakh. For repeat offenders, the penalty will be two years in jail and a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh.

The Maldharis have alleged that the state government ate up the pastoral land in the name of development, and now with this draconian law, it wants to have a licence to keep a cow.

Addressing the media, government spokesperson and education minister Jitu Vaghani said, "In the Bill, special care has been taken to ensure that Maldhari community, cattle, and common citizens don't face any issues. The government assures that the law wouldn't cause any harm to the owners." He added that the government is "sensitive", and that's why it made a provision of Rs 600 crore for the "protection" of cows.

Maldharis are from Bharwad, Rabari, Gadhvi, Ahir, and Muslim Jat communities, largely concentrated in Saurashtra and Kutch. Belonging to Other Backward Caste, the Maldharis are considered BJP supporters.

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