‘Centre can’t impose slaughter ban on states’

SHILLONG: BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli said on Wednesday the Centre cannot impose the ban on cow slaughter on states as it is against the Constitution.
Speaking to media persons here, Kohli said, “The notification does not mention a word about beef ban and it was issued after the Supreme Court asked the Centre to make rules on the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
The BJP central leader blamed the Congress’s “trick department” for spreading rumours about beef ban.
“BJP has no agenda except development and the Congress government does not want to speak on the topic or its track record as a government. They are trying to communalise it and create false propaganda on social media,” he said and added that most of the reports o social media are fabricated.
Kohli put the ball in Congress’s court by saying the Prevention of Cruelty against Animals Act was brought in by the Congress in 1960 and “we are being blamed for this”.
“Eating beef is normal in Meghalaya. India is about respecting one another,” he said and criticised the Congress for slaughtering a cow in Kerala to register protest.
The Centre in a notification last week had banned sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter and the move was severely criticised by political parties and NGOs in the state.