The municipal corporation of Kalyan-Dombivli in Maharashtra’s Thane district has ordered all slaughterhouses and meat shops in its jurisdiction to stay closed on Independence Day, reported The Indian Express on Monday. The Opposition parties have described the action as “food policing”.
In a notice signed by Deputy Commissioner Kanchan Gaikwad, the municipal corporation said that slaughterhouses and licensed butchers of goats, sheep, chickens and large animals should stay closed from midnight of August 14 till midnight of August 15, PTI reported.
It also warned of action under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act if the order is violated.
Gaikwad claimed that the action was taken in consideration of long-standing administrative resolutions to ensure public order and the observance of important national occasions, the news agency reported.
The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation is under administrative rule, with the municipal commissioner acting as the administrator on behalf of the state government.
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Jitendra Awhad claimed that the ruling Mahayuti alliance was “fuelling a vegetarian–non-vegetarian divide” after having “exhausted other social controversies”, The Indian Express reported.
The Mahayuti alliance comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena group led by former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Ajit Pawar.
Sharad Pawar’s faction of the NCP, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Congress are part of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.
Awhad also questioned whether the state government would now decide on when to eat non-vegetarian food.
“I am planning to host a mutton party that day [Independence Day]” the NCP(SP) MLA from the Mumbra-Kalwa seat told PTI on Sunday. “On the day we got freedom, you are taking away our freedom to eat what we want.”
Awhad’s party colleague and MP Suresh Mhatre also described the action as “unacceptable” and said that food choices are rooted in cultural traditions, particularly in the coastal Agri-Koli community, The Indian Express reported.
He added that such a ban cannot be imposed.
Uddhav Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray demanded the suspension of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation commissioner.
“Bridges are collapsing, roads are in terrible shape, and instead of fixing them, the administration is busy banning food,” Thackeray said.
Meanwhile, Shinde Sena MLA Vishwanath Bhoir claimed that there was no public objection about the ban, The Indian Express reported.
“If people follow become vegetarian for one day, what is the harm?” the Kalyan MLA asked, adding that criticism was the job of the Opposition.
Plea in Telangana HC
A petition has also been filed in the Telangana High Court against a recent order by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation directing the closure of beef shops and slaughterhouses on Independence Day and Janmashtami, Bar and Bench reported.
Janmashtami is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of the deity Krishna and will be observed on August 16.
The petition filed by a law student was listed before Justice B Vijaysen Reddy on Monday. Reddy directed the municipal corporation to explain the reasoning for the decision.
The matter was listed for further hearing on Wednesday.
The petition claimed that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation ordered the closure without any cause of action or statutory powers, Bar and Bench reported.
“The decision to close down the cattle slaughter houses, meat shops, etc. is taken without citing any reasons and the said letter is a blatant example of colorable exercise of authority without any reason whatsoever,” the petition said.
The livelihood of the traders cannot be harmed and they deserve to know why their businesses need to be closed on August 15 and August 16, it added.
Describing the order as “arbitrary” and “illegal”, the petition also said that it violated Article 14 and Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Article 14 guarantees the right to equality before the law, while Article 19(1)(g) grants the right to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.
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