NEW DELHI: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to abolish subsidies for meat exporters as a "first step" towards ban on cow meat export.
In a letter to Narendra Modi, Swamy said the subsidies given to cow meat exporters are extended out of taxpayers' money "and millions of such taxpayers are hurt when their money is given by way of subsidy to meat exporters." He urged the Prime Minister to direct authorities to abolish subsidies to meat sector immediately "as a first step towards eventual banning of cow meat export".
Swamy said while Maharashtra and a few other states have banned cow slaughter, now there is a need to withdraw the 13 types of subsidies extended to the exporters which are administered through Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).
"These subsidies thus encourage cow meat exports from those states which have not banned cow slaughter and thus crores of rupees of the nation go to the pockets of meat exporters by way of these subsidies," he said.
Swamy pointed out that meat exports started in 1992 and have reached 15 lakh MT in terms of quantity and over Rs 30,000 crore in terms of value. "In your 2014 election speeches you correctly referred to meat exports as pink revolution of the earlier government and said it should be banned," he said.
The receipt of his letter was personally acknowledged by Modi.