Maharashtra Bans Beef : Eating beef You will be in Jail for 5 Years

mangaloretoday.com/ NDTV

Mumbai, March 3:  Beef lovers in Maharashtra today reacted with dismay at a new law that will make it extremely difficult for them to enjoy their favourite meat.

President Pranab Mukherjee has ratified the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill passed when the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance was in power in 1995, which bans the slaughter of calves and bullocks completely. Only the consumption of buffaloes, which give inferior quality beef, will be allowed. The state banned cow slaughter long before in 1976, during Congress rule.

 

Anyone found selling beef or eating it can be jailed for five years and fined Rs. 10,000.

"Thanks a lot honourable President sir for the assent on Maharashtra Animal Preservation Bill. Our dream of ban on cow-slaughter becomes reality now," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted.

Beef traders claim the ban will leave thousands jobless and also push up the cost of other meat.

Beef costs almost a third of mutton and is a popular red meat choice. But buffalo meat is largely exported and only eaten by 25 per cent of beef eaters. India is the second biggest exporter of beef after Brazil.

Several people expressed strong reactions on social media, with the hashtag #BeefBan becoming a top trend on twitter. At one point, it was number four on trending topics worldwide.

"Let me stick my neck out here and say something unpopular - I don’t support #BeefBan. What people eat is NOT a priority for Hindutva," tweeted Hatuey.

"Where’s the beef ? Mr. Phadnis (Fadnavis) and others, I am willing to face 5 years in jail to defend the right of beef eaters in Maharashtra," remarked writer Shobhaa De.

Supporting the ban, former actor Raveena Tandon tweeted, "We believe everything (living and non0living) is a manifestation of the divine consciousness. Hence respect for all."



Boolywood calls for freedom of choice post beef ban


Here’s what the celebrities posted on their micro-blogging website Twitter handles:
 

 

Raveena Tandon: @TandonRaveena: My only take on beef issue that it should not be enforced, it should be optional... To eat or not to eat, is a personal choice (sic).

Farhan Akhtar: So now in Maharashtra you can have a beef with someone, but you can’t have beef with someone.

Ayushmann Khurrana: Beef faal baad! #kaminey

Shruti Seth: Hahahahahahaha "@theghantas: Our reaction when they banned beef in Maharashtra! #BeefBan

Vir Das: Dear Govt. With beef, let’s ban teeth. We can live on vegetable smoothies and this way your politicians can’t make hate speeches anymore :-)

Uday Chopra: Beef gets banned…on the plus side, less red meat in our diet is a good thing…on the not so plus side…another step towards a theocratic state.

Aarti Chabria: #BeefBan? Well I don’t eat beef anyway...But seriously???

Vishal Dadlani: I’m vegetarian, so this #BeefBan doesnt affect me personally. But freedom of choice is important, in a country where more than 30% eat beef!

Nimrat Kaur: No beef. Now no jokes on this please.

Milap Zaveri: I don’t eat beef but I don’t have any beef with beef! Then why the beep should we beep beef!?

Siddharth Mallya: So if I was to go to someone’s house for dinner and they served me a steak, would I automatically become an accessory to the crime?