Congress, Left behind slaughter row, says Venkaiah Naidu

Hyderabad: Asserting that the Central government has no intention of imposing any restrictions or regulate food habits of the people Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday accused the Opposition, especially the Congress and Left parties of creating an unnecessary controversy over the issue. 

Condemning the Opposition parties for the slaughter of a calf on the streets in Kerala, Mr Naidu said that the Centre had only acted on the directions of apex court and brought in regulations over slaughter of animals. 

“It was on the direction of the apex court that we formulated guidelines on slaughter of various animals. The same guidelines had been uploaded on a website for 30 days for the people to raise objections. Only after that did the Centre notify the guidelines. However, there is no ban on eating beef in the notification. Even the Kerala High Court specifically asked the petitioner who challenged the order about this,” he said.

The Union minister said that ban on cow slaughter was in vogue in many Congress-ruled states. “It has been there in a few Congress-ruled states for quite some time. We did not bring in any new rules or regulations. The same people who imposed the restrictions are now raking up controversies. Even the Rajasthan High Court said that cows must be protected and recognised as the National Animal. The Opposition, which is making a hue and cry, appears to have forgotten all this,” he said. 

Speaking to newsmen at TS BJP office here, Mr Naidu said that the Opposition parties have no work as on date and that was the reason they were creating controversies from every issue. “Unfortunately for them, the people are fully supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in every sphere, including the latest regulation on slaughter of animals,” he said.