Published On : Fri, Jun 2nd, 2017

I eat beef, nothing wrong with it, says BJP’s Arunachal CM Pema Khandu

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Guwahati:
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Pema Khandu on Friday opposed the Union government notification which put a ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter.

Khandu told media that the Centre would have to relook the sale of cattle for slaughter ban in consultation with states. “I consume beef myself. There is nothing wrong with that,” he added.

However, he said that the Narendra Modi-led government was sensitive one and senior BJP leader and minister, Venkaiah Naidu, has issued a statement that he would hold consultations with states and relook the ban on cattle sale.

“Not just Arunachal, the northeast as whole is tribal dominated who are mostly non-vegetarian,’ Khandu said.

The gazette notification by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change was issued in May. Titled Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, it stated that no one can bring cattle to an animal market unless he or she has furnished a written declaration that the cattle will not be sold for the purpose of slaughter.

The notification has led to widespread protests, especially from Kerala and West Bengal where the Chief Ministers, Pinarayi Vijayan and Mamata Banerjee respectively, issued strong statements against the ban.

In Tamil Nadu, it led to violence in IIT-Madras where Sooraj, a PhD scholar, was attacked by alleged right-wing activists for a ‘Beef Fest’ in protest against the notification.