Thantai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam district president R. Ramesh Babu has said that any ban on beef would affect not only the poor beef traders but also the farmers who breed cattle for milk.
“If beef eating is banned, how can a poor farmer who breeds the cow for milk dispose of the excess animals,” he asked while leading an agitation here on Sunday against the demands for banning the eating of beef.
About 50 members of the outfit were arrested for resorting to an agitation near Kumaran statue without obtaining permission.
Mr. Babu was of the opinion that religious sentiments should not be mixed unnecessarily while seeking a ban on beef eating.
“Why then those who term cow as ‘holy animal’ takes its milk without giving to the calf?” he quipped.
The agitators pointed out that beef was eaten by people belonging to economically weaker sections of the society to the rich persons and hence, any ban would affect the dietary habits of the society.