Determined to resist the May 23 Central notification banning sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter at animal markets in the country to the maximum possible extent, the Kerala Government has effectively decided not to implement the new rules till it receives convincing clarification from the Centre, even as the Opposition announced its decision to confront the order politically and legally. The protests that had started on Friday against the Central notification intensified across Kerala on Saturday with various youth outfits holding beef festivals, while cattle farmers, traders, slaughterers and beef vendors aired anxieties over the new rules. Abattoirs and beef shops in Kerala functioned as usual on Saturday, the first day of the holy Ramadan month, but the expected rush was not seen in the market.
Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convey the State’s objections over the notification to him. He said in the letter that the notification violated the basic principles of the Constitution and requested the Prime Minister to intervene immediately in the matter to ensure the withdrawal of the notification.
Sources indicated the Government would not take any step to implement the new rules floated by the Centre until a “convincing clarification” came. It would also not impose restrictions on cattle trade or slaughter in the State for the time being. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala of the Congress also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister over the issue.
Announcing the resolve of the Congress-led Opposition UDF to confront the notification legally and politically, Chennithala stated that the front would observe Monday as Black Day in protest against the Central move. “This is a mad decision and it has exposed the fascist face of the Narendra Modi Government,” he said.
Alleging that the notification was the latest example of the NDA Government’s bid to implement the agenda of the RSS that aimed at polarising the country, senior Congress leader AK Antony said in Thiruvananthapuram, “There is no need to give even the value of paper to this order. In my opinion, we should tear up the notification and throw it in the waste bin.”
The State BJP reacted sharply to the onslaught by the CPI(M)-led ruling lDF and the Opposition UDF against the Centre in the name of the controls imposed on cattle trade. K Surendran, general secretary of the State BJP, accused the lDF and UDF of trying to stir up tension. He said the CPI(M) was trying to divide the people through a misinformation campaign over the issue.
CPI(M)’s feeder outfits DYFI and SFI cooked and served beef delicacies in front of the State Secretariat and University College in Thiruvananthapuram respectively as part of the beef fest they organised to protest the Central notification. The Congress and its feeder outfits also held beef fests in Kollam and Kochi.
Meanwhile, reports from various centres in the State suggested that the beef market remained dull on Saturday despite the fact that it was the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. “I decided not to buy beef and chose chicken instead. To speak the truth, I was a bit scared to carry home a packet of beef,” said Shafeeq Anwar, a resident of Thalassery, Kannur.
Almost all the abattoirs and beef shops had functioned normally on Saturday but vendors said they were anxious about the future. “It is absolutely impossible to continue with this job if I have to conform to the new rules. There is also a fear that conflicts may occur during transportation of cattle as it has allegedly been happening in North India,” said a beef vendor in Kozhikode.
At the cattle market in Kuzhalmannam in Palakkad district, perhaps the largest such facility in the State where cattle fair takes place every Saturday, traders expressed concern over the future of the sector. “If cattle can’t be sold for the purpose of slaughtering, there will be almost nobody to buy from us,” said a cattle trader Achuthan from Koduvayur, Palakkad.