Yatnal seeks ban on cow slaughter

Former union minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal petitioned Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday seeking promulgation of an ordinance to ban the slaughter of cows in Karnataka.

His petition comes amid speculation that the Yediyurappa administration may revive its earlier decision to make cattle slaughter illegal, which the Siddaramaiah-led Congress regime had overturned.

“Of late, cows are being transported illegally and those seeking to prevent this are being attacked. Also, in several places, unauthorized slaughterhouses are in operation,” Yatnal, who represents Bijapur city, stated in his petition to the chief minister.

He has urged the government to promulgate an ordinance to ban cow slaughter and evict illegal slaughterhouses. He also demanded protection to “gaurakshaks.”

In 2010, when Yediyurappa was the chief minister, the BJP government got the controversial Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill passed amid resistance from the Opposition Congress, following the footsteps of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, that had a similar law in place.

The Bill proposed to replace the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964. The BJP’s Bill had widened the definition of ‘cattle’ and imposed a blanket ban on cattle slaughter, coupled with stringent penalty clauses for violation.

The Bill was before the President for his assent when, in 2013, the Congress government headed by Siddaramaiah withdrew it, restoring the 1964 Act that allowed slaughter of bulls, bullocks and buffaloes if they were aged over 12 years or if they were unfit for breeding or did not give milk.