Wary of possible “devastating” economic consequences on the Centre’s notification banning sale of livestock for slaughtering in an industrially downbeat Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress has demanded a rollback of new rules citing jurisdictional inability of New Delhi to frame laws that were exclusively in State domain.
“Our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already spoken about what she thinks about dictating people’s eating habits. Now the problem is even bigger,” said State Education Minister Partho Chatterjee adding the new rule will hit States economically.
Saving livestock from slaughter would destroy population in a country where employment opportunity is scarce and where unemployment and underemployment go hand in hand, he said adding the new rule will trigger loss of business, job and finally stoke crime to say the least.
Bengal which has just recently signed Rs1,000 crore-deal with UP-based business houses has a roaring leather industry worth about Rs14,000 crore creating about 10 lakh jobs.
“The lakh jobs mean 50-60 thousand mouths to be fed,” said another State Minister Javed Khan who is known to have interests in leather industry.
Chatterjee also reminded of India’s “federal structure” where a “State list” should remain an exclusive matter of the State Government. But the Centre is meddling in not only State affairs but also inside people’s kitchen, he said.
They should remember that stoking “coarse nationalistic sentiments will not be enough to keep hungry bellies calm for too long a period. Instead of addressing the problems of thousands of farmers committing suicide or workers going jobless on account of poor labour laws this Government is dabbling in ridiculous affairs,” Purnendu Bose another Minister said.
A senior party MP who is not known to speak out of turn also wondered how the BJP Government was trying to dictate the food habits of more than half of India saying
“The plan is to ban meat completely. But they should remember that India does not comprise only of Gujarat, Rajasthan or Western UP. There are tribal people, Scheduled Castes, the meat-eating population of the North East, also the worshippers of Shakti, who offer meat to Mother Goddess in sacrifice.
Imposing such laws mean using one culture to dominate another culture. There will be revolt if the Government tries to go too far. They should at least leave a chance to return to power if they lose it in 2019,” the MP said adding, “By banning cow, buffalo and camel slaughter, the Government is only testing water before bringing more draconian laws.”
The new law was the beginning of a “food dictatorship” that would end up in imposing the hegemony of vegetarians by western India on the east, said Bose wondering what would happen to the barren cattle in future.
“The people will be forced to leave them on streets and allow them to die by consuming plastic. Besides a proliferation of livestock population would not only bring pressure on forest products but also multiplication of green house gases,” the MP said.