Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has questioned the silence of secular parties over Kerala’s beef festivals in protest against the Centre’s decision banning the sale of cattle for slaughter from open markets.
“I feel there is a lot of talk in the country to respect each other’s feelings, and several organisations demand this in the name of secularism. But why are they silent on the Kerala incident?” he asked at a public felicitation function organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Sunday night.
“Why are the people who staged vociferous protests over the incidents in DU and JNU silent on the issue?” the Chief Minister asked.
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Calf slaughtered
During the beef festivals held in Kerala to protest against the Centre’s ban, a Youth Congress worker Rijil Makulti and his accomplices had reportedly slaughtered a calf in full public view in Kannur and took out a march with the head of a buffalo.
Mr. Adityanath, soon after coming to power, had ordered strict compliance with the ban on cow slaughter in the State, besides closing down illegal slaughter houses.
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He had categorically stated that his government would not allow cow slaughter and cow smuggling at any cost.
Kerala BJP president Kummanam Rajasekharan posted the video of the gory incident on Twitter, calling it “cruelty at it peak” and said no normal person could behave in this manner.
Later, police registered a case against Mr. Makulti and his accomplices for slaughtering a calf during a ‘beef fest’ organised across the State by the Congress and the Left on Sunday to protest the Centre’s ban.