Agitating meat traders of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday hardened their tone and threatened to call a countrywide shut down of the meat business and all trades associated with it if the State government did not provide them with an alternative set-up until the modernisation of slaughter houses was complete.
This came after the Allahabad High Court told the Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government that it cannot impose a prohibition on meat under the garb of cracking down on illegal slaughterhouses. Terming choice of food as part of right to life, the court gave the State 10 days to ensure that its crackdown on unlicensed abattoirs did not deprive people of their livelihood or food.
Slaughter houses shut
The government has said it has shut down 26 illegal slaughter houses in the State so far. To chalk out their strategy against the “unwarranted government intervention,” the All India Jamiatul Quresh (AIJQ), a social body representing the Qureshis, a Muslim community traditionally involved in the meat trade, convened a special meeting here.
As per the proposals unanimously passed in the meeting, the AIJQ has demanded that till the process of modernisation of slaughterhouses was complete and abattoirs made pollution-free, those involved in the business be provided with an alternate set-up and local facility for slaughtering animals so that the dietary requirements of common people are met. They have also asked the government to direct the authorities to provide meat shops with new licences and renew those pending for years.
Yusuf Qureshi, president, All India Jamiatul Quresh UP, also demanded protection from and legal action against vigilante groups and police officials who “harass and loot” those transporting buffaloes and goats purchased from the market. The body also demanded that committees of the Qureshi community be formed in every district under the watch of administrative officials for ensuring hygiene.
If the U.P. government does not meet their “legitimate demands”, the Qureshis have threatened to stage a protest rally in Lucknow on April 20.
The Qureshis also said that they would call for a “total bandh” of slaughterhouses across the country.,
The meeting was chaired by Sirajuddin Qureshi, the national president of the AIJQ.
Mr. Sirajuddin Qureshi also met BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday to apprise him of the difficulties and livelihood crisis faced by his community. “He told me that he would not allow any discrimination on the grounds of religion but would also not tolerate any illegal activities,” Mr. Sirajuddin Qureshi said.
Mr. Sirajuddin Qureshi asked meat traders to weather the storm and also warned them that if anybody was suspected of cow slaughter, which is illegal, he would be boycotted by the community and sent to the police.
