4 days ago
Meat sale banned in Kalyan on Independence Day, order sparks political storm
The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation's (KDMC) order banning the sale of meat on Independence Day has triggered a political row, with leaders from the Opposition NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) slamming it as an attack on people's food per the KDMC order, all slaughterhouses and shops of licenced butchers of goats, sheep, chickens, and large animals must remain closed for 24 hours from midnight of August 14 till midnight of August civic body warned of action under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949, if any animal is slaughtered or meat is sold during this period.
KDMC Deputy Commissioner (Licenses) Kanchan Gaikwad said the order has been issued every year since 1988 as part of a civic resolution aimed at ensuring public order and the observance of important national Commissioner Yogesh Godse clarified that there is a ban on the sale of mutton and chicken but no ban on eating it, adding that the order is not new and is also implemented on Republic the Opposition reacted sharply. NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad announced he would host a mutton party on August 15 to assert "freedom" of food preferences."On the day we got freedom, you are taking away our freedom to eat what we want," he said, also posting on X, "This is too much. Who are you to decide what people will eat and when?"Bhiwandi MP Suresh Mhatre of the NCP (SP) also opposed the move, calling it an infringement on traditional food habits. "Wherever there is a sea in the world, people's diets match their surroundings. What someone wants to eat or not eat is their personal matter. This restriction is not justified," he said, pointing to the cultural food practices of the Agri-Koli (West) MLA and ruling Shiv Sena leader Vishwanath Bhoir defended the order, saying, "If one day passes without eating meat, what will happen? Ordinary people are not complaining. The municipal administration acts in the interest of citizens."'OUR PRASAD HAS PRAWNS, FISH'Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray demanded the suspension of the KDMC commissioner for "dictating people's food choices". "What we eat on Independence Day is our right, our freedom. They cannot tell us whether to eat veg or non-veg. In our house, even on Navratri, our prasad has prawns, fish, because this is our tradition, this is our Hinduism... This is not a matter of religion, and it is not a matter of national interest," he questioned the authority of the commissioner, stating, "Who is the commissioner to tell people whether they can eat non-veg or not? We will definitely eat non-veg."- EndsMust Watch
