A week after a mob murdered a Muslim man over rumours of beef consumption in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, the politics around cow protection continues to rage. On Monday, the Congress party claimed to have banned cow slaughter “in 24 out of 29 Indian states, much before BJP was even born.”
Senior Congress parliamentarian Pramod Tiwari took a shot at Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil Modi, for “making a false promise of banning cow slaughter in Bihar, if BJP comes to power.”
“May we remind you that cow slaughter was banned in Bihar in 1955 by the enactment of The Bihar Preservation And Improvement of Animals Act, 1955,” said Mr. Tiwari. He said the Union Ministers of the ruling party had resorted to “inflammatory, provocative and incendiary statements aimed at rabble-rousing.”
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Mr. Tiwari took a dig at the Samajwadi Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, accusing the leaders of the two parties of being “co-conspirators” in helping the BJP fulfil its “well thought out seditious agenda.”
“It is no longer the ‘fringe’ but Union Ministers, MPs and MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party who are fanning the communal fire,” said Mr. Tiwari.
Mr. Tiwari criticized Sanjeev Balayan and BJP MLA Sangeet Som, who’s accused in 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal riots, for giving provocative speeches in Dadri while demanding the release of the people who’re accused of murdering Akhlaq. He also expressed his astonishment over Union Minister Mahesh Sharma’s response—that the incident was an “accident.”
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“Mr. Prime Minister, what happens to your 'oath of office' to protect and uphold the Constitution and safety and security of 125 Cr Indians at all times? Do the statements of Union Ministers, Shri Sanjeev Baliyan and Shri Mahesh Sharma and BJP MLA Sangeet Som have your implied support and tacit approval? What about the cardinal principle of 'collective responsibility of council of Ministers?”