Srinagar: A day before Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is scheduled to take up private members’ bills seeking repeal of 120-year-old law that bans slaughter of cow and other bovine animals and sale of beef in the State, an Independent MLA on Wednesday hosted a ‘beef party’ here to show contempt to it.
Justifying the move, MLA Sheikh Abdur Rashid alias Engineer Rashid who heads regional Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) said, “the purpose of the get-together was to give a clear and louder message to legislatures, power corridors, judiciary and other institutions that nobody needs permission what to eat and what not and that interference in religious affairs and fundamental rights would not be tolerated”.
He said that ‘people of all walks of life’ attended the ‘beef party’ held at the MLAs Hostel here and that few beef preparations and dishes were served to the guests.
Replying to reporters’ questions Mr Rashid said that the event by no means was organised to hurt anyone’s sentiments. “In fact, it is stupid and unacceptable to see it from that angle,” he said adding that the legislatures should read writing on the wall and must foil all the efforts to sabotage the bill he has moved before the Assembly, now in its autumn session here, and which seeks revocation of ban on beef.
“Legislature and other institutions need to understand that religious rights cannot be made controversial by dragging them to courts or any assembly”, he added.
Earlier this week, the State Assembly witnessed ruckus and violence over the beef ban issue. This was on the same day when Supreme Court put in abeyance for two months an order passed by a bench of the J&K High Court on September 8 asking the police to strictly enforce relevant provisions of the State’s own Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) that ban slaughter of cow and other bovine animals and the sale of beef.
While the Jammu-based division bench of the High Court had ordered banning the sale of beef in the state, another operating from Srinagar recently entertained a PIL against the ban and sought explanations from the State government on the issue.
In view of the conflicting orders, the State government moved a petition in the Supreme Court pleading these have grave ramifications for the law and order situation in the State, ‘as the orders are being misused and interpreted to disturb peace’. The apex court directed the Chief Justice of the state to constitute a three-member bench to look into the order passed on the PIL challenging beef ban in the Srinagar branch of the court.
This came at a time when the State Assembly secretariat had received several private members' bills again the beef ban including one from Mr. Rashid. Speaker Kavinder Gupta who has, so far, not allowed discussion on the issues in the House has listed these bills at the tail end of the Assembly’s brief autumn session.
Section 298-A, 298-B, 298-C and 298-D of the RPC declare slaughter of bovine animals including cow and the sale of beef punishable offences.
