A day after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat called for a nationwide law for banning cow slaughter, senior officials in the government said the demand was not feasible as it was a “State subject” and the Constitution would have to be amended for such a law.
The protection and preservation of animals is Entry 15 of the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, which empowers the States to make laws on subjects like banning cow slaughter.
Bhagwat speech
Mr. Bhagwat said on Sunday that he desired that cow slaughter be banned across the country but added that law-making was the job of the government. “Many States where there are RSS volunteers in government, have brought this law. We desire such a law across India,” he said, addressing a function in Delhi on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti.
Mr. Bhagwat’s remarks come in the wake of the killing of a Muslim dairy farmer, Pehlu Khan, by cow vigilantes at Alwar in BJP-ruled Rajasthan. “We have to amend the Constitution if a nationwide law on banning cow slaughter is to be brought in. As many as 24 States have laws to tackle the issue, so it should serve the purpose,” said a senior government official. Another official also said no such plan to amend the Constitution for banning cow slaughter was on the cards.
The Gujarat Assembly recently passed an amendment to the Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill which makes cow slaughter, transportation of cows or beef and beef products punishable with a life term, but not less than 10 years, a first in the country.
Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Lakshwadeep are the only States and union territory where there is no law on banning cow slaughter.
