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Kannur: Kerala police arrested eight workers of Youth Congress who slaughtered an ox in full public view, cooked its meat and then distributed it to protest against the Centre’s latest rules on the sale of cattle. The eight arrested people include former IYC Kannur Parliament constituency committee Rijil Makutty who, as per the reports, was also involved in the beef fest. The police had earlier charged 16 Youth Congress activists in the case and had charged them under IPC Section 428 and Section (ii) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.
The act was committed in front of a huge crowd in Kannur Saturday during the ‘Beef Fest’ held by the Left and Congress parties in Kerala. “It is a thoughtless act and it will only help Sangh Parivar outfits. It is sad that Youth Congress activists stooped so low for publicity,” CPI(M) member of Parliament MB Rajesh said.
“The incident probably shows the immaturity of the youth,” said Congress leader M. Liju adding that even while protesting one needs to maintain a certain level of decency. The former Youth Congress president said that there are certain rules that should have been kept in mind by the members before slaughtering the animal.
The Youth Congress had also issued a statement saying that the outfit does not support any kind of cruelty against animals. It also said that people who slaughtered the animal were from slaughterhouses and not the Youth Congress. “We shall probe the matter (to find out) if any of our office-bearers is involved”, the outfit said.
Rahul Gandhi also took to Twitter to condemn the incident and wrote: “What happened in Kerala yesterday was thoughtless, barbaric & completely unacceptable to me & the Congress Party. I strongly condemn the incident.” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “Such elements have no place in the Congress. Youth Congress workers have been suspended.”
