To eat beef or not? Let people decide: BR Ambedkar's grandson

Belagavi: Hitting out at ban on cow slaughter in several states by the BJP, grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar,  Bheemrao Ambedkar, on Tuesday called it both unwarranted and a needless interference in what should be a matter of personal choice.

Speaking to reporters in Vijayapura, Mr Ambedkar , who is working president of the Bharatiya Boudha Mahasabha,  pointed out that four of the major meat exporting companies in the country were owned by Hindus and only two by Muslims.

“Whether to eat beef or not should be left to the people,” he asserted.
Objecting to the government's rising control in matters of religion, he said the anti-conversion law introduced in Madhya Pradesh was a violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

“The Indian Constitution has given people total freedom to embrace a religion of their choice but unfortunately MP has brought in an anti-conversion law,”  he regretted, declaring that his organization would fight to have it withdrawn in the courts.

Asked for his comments on the “ghar wapsi”  operation across the nation, Mr Ambedkar dismissed it as nothing but a political gimmick.   

He supported the entry of women in all temples, deploring that women were still not being given their due in the country.  On the much-debated issue of Rohit Vemula's suicide in Hyderabad, he took the government to task for trying to claim that he was not a Dalit student.

“How could he get  government benefits to do his PhD, if he was not a Dalit ?” he asked. Calling for reservation in the private sector as well, Mr Ambedkar blamed the government's dual policies for the  increase in the number of "contract jobs" and the fall in government jobs.