BJP's cattle trade ban a way to impose RSS' political agenda: Kerala CM

Thiruvananthapuram: Hitting out at the Centre on cattle trade issue, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking to introduce a new rule to impose the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) political agenda.

Vijayan revealed this during a special session of the state assembly called to discuss the Centre's notification on the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter.

Vijayan said that the Centre's move against cow slaughter would hurt the economy and farmers.

"15 lakh cattle are brought into the state every year. Because of this order, the movement of the cattle has been stopped. A lot of the people use this food for nutrition. This rule will have a long lasting effect on the people. About five lakh people work in the trade industry associated with slaughter houses.” claimed Vijayan.

He further added, “This rule will only affect common traders and not those who have huge farms. This is also the RSS agenda to bring in ban on cow slaughter. Central government brought this rule to impose the political agenda of the Sangh Parivar.”

"As a next step, the milk produce will be less and milk prices will increase. Farmers are already going through a tough time. This will worsen the situation. Our state government has envisaged several schemes for increasing the milk production. For that, cattle is being brought into the state through markets, this will also be affected. If there is a restriction on red meat, the price of other meat will increase," he said.

Quoting Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, the chief minister said the latter has asserted that the Centre must mull over the economic implications of this proposed notification.

"Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian had said that every government has the right to decide their social policies, but should also think about the economic implications," said Vijayan.

Vijayan last week said his government will challenge the Centre's notification banning the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter in animal markets.

There has been wide opposition to the notification, with many states rejecting the notification.

In some places, people even hosted a 'beef fest' to protest the decision.

The governments of Karnataka, Kerala and Tripura have said they will not implement the order.

Union Minister for Environment Harsh Vardhan has ordered that the ministry has notified the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 to ensure that the sale of cattle is not meant for slaughter purposes.

He said the seller and buyer both have to ensure that cattle is not bought or sold across the country's livestock markets market for slaughter purposes.