No proposal to revoke cow slaughter ban: H K Patil

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil on Tuesday said that there is no proposal before the state government to revoke the ban on cow slaughter.

Patil’s statement is being seen as the ruling Congress’ plan to stop the BJP from taking advantage of Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh’s controversial comment justifying the need for cow slaughter, which could take away the sheen off the Congress' five guarantees.

Patil told reporters that there is no proposal before the government as of now to review the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act.

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A senior Congress leader told DH that the party wants to send out a big message during the budget session that begins on July 3. “We have made a good start by announcing five guarantees. We want to maintain this momentum. After the 'Garibi Hatao' slogan and 20-point programme envisaged by Congress Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, this is perhaps the world’s biggest poverty alleviation programme the Congress is launching. We want it to succeed,” he said.

He added that the budget session may not see any such laws coming up that will dilute the importance of the five guarantees assured by the party. “We are allocating a whopping Rs 50,000 crore budget to implement them. Will it make any sense to bring controversial things in the middle of such a massive programme planned by the party?” another leader questioned.

The leader also pointed out that the Congress needs at least a year or so to monitor the implementation of these assurances. “If we fail, it will have a drastic fallout on our party’s credibility, which we cannot afford to lose,” the leader said.