More Maharashtra civic bodies order closure of slaughterhouses on Aug 15, chief minister Fadnavis says govt played no role

Time of India

21 hours ago

Nashik/Kolhapur/Mumbai: Several civic bodies in Maharashtra, including the municipal corporations in Nashik, Jalgaon, Kolhapur and Ichalkaranji, on Wednesday ordered the closure of slaughterhouses and meat shops on Aug 15, sparking a controversy.
Nagpur and Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporations had already issued similar orders.
When asked about some municipal corporations ordering the closure of abattoirs on Aug 15, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the govt had no role in the matter. "State government is not interested in (knowing) who eats what. We have many other issues to address," Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday. He added, "The state never took such a decision.
A govt resolution (GR) was issued in Aug 1988. Municipal corporations take such decisions (ordering the closure of slaughterhouses) on their own.
Even I was not aware of such a GR existing for such a long period."
Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, BJP's alliance partner in Mahayuti, expressed discomfort with the slaughterhouse closure on Aug 15. On Tuesday, he said it was wrong to impose such a ban. "In major cities, people of different castes and religions reside.
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If it is an emotional issue, then people accept it (ban) for a day. But if you clamp such orders on Maharashtra Day, Independence Day and Republic Day, then it is difficult," he said.
The BJP, for its part, said the policy to keep abattoirs shut on Independence Day was first implemented when Sharad Pawar was chief minister of Maharashtra and sought to know if the opposition would question him about it.
In Nashik, the order was issued by the civic body's veterinary officer, Pramod Sonwane, following the directive of Nashik municipal commissioner Manisha Khatri.
The order states, "All citizens within the NMC jurisdictions are hereby informed that as per govt directives, since Friday, Aug 15, is Independence Day, all slaughterhouses within Nashik Municipal Corporation limits will remain closed on that day and no one should slaughter animals within the Nashik Municipal Corporation jurisdiction on this day.
Please note that if anyone is found slaughtering animals on this day, legal action will be taken against the persons concerned."
Jalgaon Municipal Corporation has also issued an order that all mutton and meat markets in the city will remain shut on Aug 15, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Lord Shri Krishna, and on Aug 27, on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. The order was issued by Uday Patil, the assistant commissioner (health) of Jalgaon Municipal Corporation.
In Kolhapur and Ichalkaranji, authorities said the restrictions are not new.
There is no ban on meat consumption or serving cooked meat in eateries. However, the order issued by the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation stated that chicken and mutton shop operators who defy the orders may invite legal action.
Fadnavis said he asked various municipal corporations why they had taken such a decision, in response to which they sent him a copy of the 1988 GR. "They (corporations) said they take this decision every year, (they had taken it) even when Uddhav Thackeray was CM.
They sent me a copy of it," he said.Referring to a remark made by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut earlier in the day that the CM was making Maharashtra "impotent" with such a ban, Fadnavis said without naming him, "Some people have started calling those eating vegetarian food as impotent.
This foolishness must stop. Each one can eat what he wants. Our Constitution has given the right to everyone to live."Opposition has called the decision "nonsensical."
Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said: "Maharashtra govt should not tell us what time we should eat meat, what spices or salt we should use; it should not try to control our personal habits, marriages, or our thinking process. Such things have no place in our state, but this govt is deliberately doing it."
BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye posed this question to NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad and Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Aaditya Thackeray, who have criticised the ban.
Upadhye said the policy to keep abattoirs shut on Aug 15 was originally framed by the Congress govt then led by Shankarrao Chavan. "Within a month in 1988, Sharad Pawar became the CM and implemented the policy for the first time," he said.
Upadhye also took a swipe at deputy CM Ajit Pawar. In a social media post, he said, "There is no doubt that Ajit Pawar, who has a good grip on the administration and is the Dy CM in the Mahayuti govt and is now opposing the meat ban decision of August 15, is also aware that this decision was not made by the Mahayuti government."
Hitting out at MVA, Upadhya said that Awhad and Aaditya Thackeray, who were ministers when the earlier MVA govt issued the same orders, cannot be said to have contracted the disease of forgetfulness. "Awhad and Thackeray, who have completely lost their conscience and are in despair after losing the party and power, are against every action of the government," he said.
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