Row over Karnataka minister’s remark on cow slaughter

Karnataka’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences minister, K Venkatesh, on Saturday asked if buffaloes can be slaughtered, then what is wrong with slaughtering cows. The Minister was referring to the difficulties farmers face maintaining aged cattle and disposing of the dead.

According to an India Today report, Venkatesh also said that the amendment of the bill would benefit the farmers in the state.

Former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday condemned K Venkatesh’s statement and, in a series of tweets, said that Indians are emotionally connected with cows and worship them as a mother.

“Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh’s statement is shocking. We condemn his statement. We Indians have an emotional connection with the cow and worship them as mother,” Bommai said. Wondering whom Venkatesh wanted to please, the BJP leader sought to know if the statement was made in an attempt to change his portfolio or to please the Congress high command.

“Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi was the first to advocate the ban on cow slaughter. A ban on cow slaughter advocated by Venerable Mahatma Gandhi was enacted in several states in the 1960s,” the BJP leader said. Bommai also stated the minister’s statement would give rise to “large-scale smuggling of cows and mass slaughtering factories in the state”.

“The law was introduced during our government to prevent illegal slaughterhouses. No new Act has been brought in Karnataka. We have enforced the existing law,” the former chief minister added.

ಗೋವುಗಳನ್ನು ಏಕೆ ಕಡಿಯಬಾರದು ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸಿರುವ ಪಶು ಸಂಗೋಪನಾ ಸಚಿವ ಕೆ. ವೆಂಕಟೇಶ್ ಅವರ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ ತಂದಿದ್ದು, ಅವರ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ ಖಂಡನೀಯ ಗೋವಿನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಭಾರತೀಯರಾದ ನಾವು ಭಾವನಾತ್ಮಕ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದು, ತಾಯಿ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಗೋವನ್ನು ಪೂಜಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ.1/5— Basavaraj S Bommai (@BSBommai) June 4, 2023

K Venkatesh’s statement comes at a time when the ruling Congress in Karnataka is mulling over the implementation of the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

When the bill was passed in the Karnataka Assembly by the BJP government in 2020, Congress had staged a walkout from the VIdhana Soudha in protest.

The bill seeks a total ban on the slaughter of cows in the state and strict punishment for those found indulging in smuggling, illegal transportation, atrocities on cows and slaughtering them.

According to the ordinance, slaughtering of cattle could lead to imprisonment of up to 3-7 years, along with a penalty ranging between Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakhs. Subsequent offences would be jailed for seven years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh would be imposed.

With inputs from News18

The post Row over Karnataka minister’s remark on cow slaughter first appeared on IPA Newspack.