Pride of place: Mother cow.

Holy Gau! Cow slaughter more serious than rape in Gujarat; no bail, life in jail

House gift on Navratri; law to appease sadhus and sants, says Govt

Agency Report | Gandhinagar/New Delhi | 31 March, 2017 | 10:10 PM

The Gujarat assembly has made its anti-cow slaughter law the toughest in the country with the offence now becoming non-bailable and punishable with a lifetime in jail.

The Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2017, was passed with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s brute majority and the opposition Congress remaining suspended from the house for the entire day on the last day of the Budget session.

Moving an amendment, Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja said: “During this auspicious occasion of Chaitri Navratri, the government, on suggestions of many sadhus and sants, has made amendments to the Gujarat Animal Protection (Amendment) Act, 2011. This is the harshest law in the country.”

The new law provides for a financial penalty from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for such a crime.

“If anyone is found to illegally keep or transport a cow, the new Act has provision for 10 years’ imprisonment and a minimum of 7 years in jail and a fine of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh,” Jadeja said.

There is also provision for permanent seizure of vehicles used for transportation of animals for slaughter as against the earlier version which allowed only impounding of such vehicles for six months.

The minister said that the state government would “strictly” implement the new law. “Earlier it was a bailable offence and legal provisions were relatively mild. This did not act as an efficient deterrent for those committing this heinous crime,” he added.

Explaining the rationale for a tougher law, Jadeja said several religious saints and leading citizens had in the past petitioned the Chief Minister for making a stricter law for cow protection.

“Cow is the symbol of Indian culture. Cow protection is not only about religious sentiments, but also is of great economic benefit to our society,” he said.

The state government has also put curbs on transportation of cows in the state during night hours. Even the legal, licensed movement of cattle would not be allowed between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that no “pressure or strike” can save illegal slaughterhouses from being shut down in the country.

“This is a question of authorised and unauthorised, of legal and illegal (slaughterhouses). Illegal slaughterhouses are not only a threat to human health but also to the environment,” Naqvi said in response to Trinamool Congress member Nadimul Haque who raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha.

“No amount of pressure or strike can save these slaughterhouses from getting closed,” the minister said, drawing loud disapproval from the opposition benches.

The issue was raised during the Zero Hour against the backdrop of the ongoing protest shutdown by meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh where the state government has launched a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses. Other states also launched similar drives.

Raising the issue of “arbitrary clampdown on butchers and meat shops” in several states, Haque said the government couldn’t dictate what people should eat.

“There has been an arbitrary clampdown on butchers and meat shops, not only in Uttar Pradesh but also in Jharkhand and several other states too. The livelihood of crores of people is getting affected. In response, these people have gone on an indefinite strike, which has resulted in meat shortage,” he said.

He said because of this, other industries such as leather and hospitality also were suffering.

“Today, 14 per cent of Uttar Pradesh’s GDP is at stake,” Haque said.

“Trying to dictate what people should consume is taking away their right of choice and an affront to their basic human right. What people do for their living or what their preferred food item is cannot and should not be dictated by the state.” (IANS)