Calf slaughter: Congress suspends three Youth leaders

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress has suspended Youth Congress leader  Rijil Makkutty and two others for publicly slaughtering a bullock in Kannur in protest against the centre’s ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter on Saturday. KPCC president M.M. Hassan took the action on Monday following Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's tweet on Sunday condemning the incident. Youth Congress Kannur Parliament constituency committee president Rijil Makkutty and YC leaders Sharafudeen and Josy Kandathil had slaughtered the calf in public and distributed its meat in protest during a demonstration. “What happened in Kerala yesterday is thoughtless, barbaric and completely unacceptable to me and the Congress party. I strongly condemn the incident,” said Mr Rahul Gandhi in his tweet.

Mr  Randeep Singh Surjewala, AICC spokesperson, said on Monday  that the horrific incident was “reprehensible” and “absolutely condemnable.” “India’s ethos and Congress party’s culture abjure any kind of violence or barbarism against every living being much less the cow, which has a special place in the hearts and minds of the people of India. None less than the Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi, has  condemned this cruel incident,”  he said. The Kannur city police  registered a case against the three YC leaders  following a  complaint filed by  Yuva Morcha district general secretary C.C. Ratheesh. They were booked under section 120 (A) (cleans furniture, article or vehicle or slaughters any animal or cleans any carcass or grooms any animal in a public place causing annoyance or inconvenience to the public) of Kerala Police Act.

Mr Hassan  also condemned the slaughter. “The action is not suited for the culture of the Congress and is against democratic action. The decision was taken after a report was submitted by Kannur DCC president, Satheesan Pacheni,”  said Mr Hassan.  The calf was slaughtered at Kannur city junction around 4.30 p.m. on Saturday by the members of the district committee of the Youth Congress in protest against the central order.   They also distributed the meat to the people who gathered there.  Mr Rijil Makkutty had scored 40, 000-plus votes against CPM’s Kodiyeri Balakrishnan in Thalassery in the 2011 Assembly elections.  He maintained that there was nothing wrong in the method of protest. “The BJP government has banned cow slaughter. To oppose this we decided to slaughter cattle in public and distribute the meat to the people,” he said.