Bring ordinance to decriminalise cow slaughter before Eid: NC

Srinagar: Opposition National Conference (NC) on Sunday asked the PDP-BJP Government to bring in an ordinance to decriminalise cow slaughter and sale of beef in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

The party said it was state government's moral obligation to make amendments to Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) on the beef ban issue, as failure to do so would impinge on religious beliefs of the people.

"While NC has made it clear that the party will submit a bill to make necessary amendments to the RPC in this context, the fact that Eid-ul-Azha falls before the start of the Assembly Session makes it imperative on behalf of the Government to pass an ordinance”, senior NC Leader Abdul Rahim Rather said.

“Ordinances are meant for such urgencies and vital matters. (Chief Minister) Mufti should get the ordinance passed by his Cabinet and send it to the Governor as soon as possible so as to prevent an explosive situation on Eid-ul-Azha where traditionally cow sacrifices are commonplace all across the State”.

He was addressing National Conference's one-day convention in Chrar-e-Sharif in Budgam district. Party's provincial president Kashmir Nasir Aslam Wani said the ordinance was a moral obligation of the Sayeed Government towards the people of this State whose religious beliefs could be impinged on by the implementation of the ban on cow slaughter.

Wani also asked the Chief Minister and the State Law Minister to clarify how the State's Deputy Advocate General was part of a PIL in which the Government was the respondent.

On Tuesday, Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed the police to ensure that there is no sale of beef anywhere in the state and that strict action is taken against those who violate the law.