The issue of cow slaughter rocked the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday as the Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs created a ruckus and stormed the well of the House and disrupted the proceedings. The issue, which figured in question hour, dominated the entire day’s proceedings with the Assembly adjourned four times. As pandemonium prevailed, Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey conducted the business and adjourned the House till Wednesday.
The issue was marked by a sharp exchange of words between Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohammad Azam Khan and the BJP members, including its legislature party leader Suresh Kumar Khanna, and Satish Mahana.
While Mr. Mahana alleged that cattle theft and cow slaughter is being executed on a large-scale and accused the Government of patronising the practice, Mr. Khan referred to the “pink revolution” and asked the member to get the export of meat banned “as the BJP Government at the Centre has been in power for five months”.
Once the export of meat is banned, the slaughter houses will close down, Mr. Khan said. On Mr. Mahana’s suggesting that a resolution on banning meat export be moved in the House, which was rejected by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who was present, intervened to state that if a resolution is moved then it should also be decided what should be the source of raw material for shoes and some medicines.
When the BJP Legislature Party leader declared that the export should be banned, Mr. Khan replied that the issue does not concern the innocent people of Muzaffarnagar, but was in the realm of international politics.
Mr. Khanna demanded that Animal Husbandry Minister Raj Kishore Singh withdraw a comment made by the latter. However, the Speaker refused to accept the BJP member’s demand but assured that he would get the comment examined and expunged from the proceedings. This did not satisfy the BJP MLAs, who trooped into the well.
Replying to a query by Satish Mahana and Lokendra Singh (BJP) on the steps taken to curb illegal slaughter of cows and the decline in milk production, the Animal Husbandry Minister said according to animal census, the bovine population rose to 205.66 lakh in 2012 from 185.51 lakh in 2003.
The Minister added that milk production also rose from 225.568 lakh metric tonne in 2011-2012 to 241.939 lmt in 2013-2014. Mr. Singh said cow slaughter has been banned under the Uttar Pradesh Cow Slaughter Prevention Act, 1955, amended in 2002. The Minister said in 2014, 2032 cases were registered, 35,012 persons were named as accused and 22,514 cattle were saved.
As the din continued during Zero Hour, the Bahujan Samaj Party staged a walkout with Leader of Opposition Swami Prasad Maurya alleging that the Samajwadi Party and BJP were in tandem in not allowing the House to function.
