BENGALURU: After much “off now and on now”, the State Government has decided to pass the anti-cow slaughter bill during the winter session of the Assembly.Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan, who had only last week indicated that the Bill may not be tabled during the December Assembly session, on Tuesday said that it will the presented before the House during the session.
In a press release, he stated that he discussed the bill, which aims to stop the import and export of beef in the state, with CM B S Yediyurappa. Already, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, have implemented similar bills. In 2008, when B S Yediyurappa was CM, his government passed the anti-cow slaughter bill and sent it to then President Pratibha Patil. But she sent it back, seeking clarifications. The Bill was withdrawn in 2014 during CM Siddaramaiah’s tenure.
Asked about the U-turn, Chavan said that earlier, they had planned to visit Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to study the bills. “But now, we have the Gazette notifications from these states and we have also spoken to officials and ministers over phone,” he said.
Asked whether the state will have a Gujarat or UP model, he said the bill in Karnataka will be stronger than in those states. “The proposal earlier was not to table the bill in winter session, but now it’s happening,” he added. BJP sources said that the bill was part of the party manifesto and as there was pressure within the party to pass it.