BENGALURU: As part of the state’s preparation to reintroduce a bill prohibiting cattle slaughter, Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan met Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath on Thursday. The BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government is keen on reintroducing its 2008 anti-cattle slaughter bill with modifications in the upcoming legislative session. Chavan expressed interest in the anti-cattle slaughter legislation in UP, and its enactment.
The minister is currently on a visit to Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to study the implementation of the law there. According to a release from Chavan’s office, Adityanath expressed happiness over Karnataka’s plans to enact the legislation, hoping that the state would follow a similar model to UP. “The minister also gathered information on the management of gaushalas (cow shelters),” the statement read.
Cow slaughter is already banned in Karnataka under the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964. The new bill the government intends to introduce was passed by both Houses in 2008, but was later withdrawn by the Congress government. The new bill intends to retain the widened definition of ‘cattle’ from the 2008 bill and imposes a blanket ban on cattle slaughter, with stringent penalty in case of violation.