Guwahati, Dec 5: Opposition parties Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) have strongly opposed the Assam government’s decision to prohibit consumption of beef in public places, while accusing the ruling BJP of “adopting double standards”.
AIUDF MLA and party’s general secretary Rafiqul Islam has questioned the state government as to why the same yardstick has not been applied in Goa or some other Northeastern states, which are either ruled by the BJP or an NDA government.
“The government should not decide what people eat or wear. We do not pay much heed to this decision,” Islam said, while appealing to the people to compel the government to take development initiatives in key sectors such as education and healthcare besides employment generation.
In an extension of the restrictions under the Cattle Preservation Act, 2021, the Assam Cabinet had on Wednesday approved the decision to prohibit consumption of beef in public places, including hotels, restaurants and community spaces, across the state.
The Act prohibits the sale of beef in areas predominantly inhabited by non-beef eating communities, and within a five-km radius of temples and satras (Vaishnavite monasteries) in the state.
The government’s move comes in the wake of allegations by Dhubri MP and five-time MLA from Samaguri Assembly constituency, Rakibul Hussain that the BJP had distributed beef to woo voters in Samaguri, a Muslim-majority seat, ahead of the by-polls there.
On the other hand, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, in an oblique reference to the state government’s decision, accused chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of “camouflaging his failure after leading the BJP to a humiliating loss in Jharkhand”.
“The Chief Minister of Assam is trying to camouflage his failure. Like the wise public of Jharkhand, the people of Assam will also punish the corruption, misrule and obscene wealth of the BJP leaders of Assam in the next election,” Gogoi asserted on social media.
Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed also criticised the ruling party for the decision to ban beef consumption in public places of the state. “The BJP has always been against the religious minorities. The decision is a scathing attack on our Constitution,” Ahmed opined.
However, BJP MP from Darrang-Udalguri parliamentary constituency, Dilip Saikia said the state Cabinet’s decision should be viewed as respect towards a religious faith and not from a communal perspective.
“The ban on beef consumption has been imposed only in public places and people are free to consume beef in private places,” Saikia said.