Youth Congress conducts public cow slaughter in Kerala; BJP condemns

Mangalore Today News Network

Kannur, May 28 2017 (PTI): Amid rage against the Centre’s new restrictions on the sale of cattle for slaughter emerges in Kerala, public slaughtering of a cow organised as part of an Indian Youth Congress protest in Kannur, has triggered strong condemnation from the BJP.

The incident happened on Saturday, as the state witnessed protests and beef festivals organised by various groups against restrictions imposed by the BJP-led Union government. In a video shared by BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan on his social media pages, a Youth Congress leader is seen raising calls of protest against the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi before giving a go-ahead to a man to slaughter the cow, with at least two children watching the proceedings.

The Youth Congress leader, Rijil Makkutty, also announced that meat of the slaughtered cow would be distributed at the venue.

“Cruelty at its peak. Cattle slaughtering by Kerala Youth Congress leader in broad daylight, in front of the public gathering,” Rajasekharan posted along with the video. Rajasekharan and other leaders have maintained that the ruling Left and Congress-led opposition are misinterpreting the restrictions and dubbing them as a blanket ban on beef consumption when there is none.

Makkutty said the slaughtering was done by a butcher and in accordance with “all regulations” followed by animal slaughter. He denied there were children watching the slaughter. “It was done as part of a very intense protest against the Centre’s plan to infringe upon basic rights of the citizen. Animals are slaughtered for meat and that’s what has happened. If we did anything wrong, let the courts decide,” Makkutty told Deccan Herald.

The BJP state president’s posts have been widely shared on Twitter and Facebook and triggered strong responses from BJP supporters. Kerala has responded to the new curbs with familiar outrage; on Sunday, the state witnessed more groups coming out to organise beef festivals and protest moves to impose “fascist” restrictions on food habits. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to the Prime Minister on Saturday, seeking a withdrawal of the restrictions announced in a notification by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.