Meat ban: Sena, MNS take to street

Wrangling over the ban on sale of meat by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) during Jain fasting period 'Paryushan' spilled on to the street today with Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) setting up stall to sell meat in defiance of the order in busy Dadar area.

The Raj Thackeray-led MNS set up a stall to sell chicken meat as a symbolic protest also Shiv Sena workers tore off the civic body notices declaring the ban on meat for four days in Mumbai on September 10, 13, 17 and 18, when members of Jain community observe religious fast.

A similar ban has also been imposed by the neighbouring Mira-Bhayander and Navi Mumbai municipal corporations.

While the BJP defended the ban, its ally Shiv Sena as well as opposition MNS and Congress and the NCP have vehemently opposed it, alleging the move as a BJP ploy to polarise voters and appease a section of society before the crucial MCGM polls in early 2017.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said his party would ensure that there was no ban on sale of meat.

MNS corporator Sandip Deshpande, who participated in the protest, told PTI "we are selling meat in Dadar area along with Shiv Sena workers, when police suddenly came there and started pushing and shoving us, later they detained us. But we will continue our agitation against the ban till the Government and the civic body revoke the order," he said.

Despande said the party would set up meat stalls across the city on all the days of the ban.

BJP leaders, however, defended the decision holding that this had been there for long and it was wrong to blame the party-led state Government.

The party leaders rejected the charge that this was a decision to appease the affluent Jain community, whose members control many business in the city.