TIA NEWS
Reacting to the Centre’s decision, banning the sale and purchase of cattle, senior Congress leader and former Union minister A K Antony said the notification should be “torn to bits” and “dumped in a dust-bin”.
The UDF will observe ‘black day’ on Monday against the ban, opposition leader in the assembly Ramesh Chennithala said at Thrissur. Front workers will wear black badges and take out protest marches, he said.
Centre Saturday banned the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter through an environment ministry notification — ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017’ under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Saturday also shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying imposing restrictions on cattle trade will affect the India’s secular ethos and millions of livelihoods.
Vijayan also said that such restrictions in a hasty manner will prove to be a “challenge in upholding the plurality” which was the essence of the nation.
“… kindly intervene in this matter and repeal the newly-imposed restrictions, so that the lives and livelihoods of millions of our fellow countrymen can be protected, while safeguarding the fundamental principles of our Constitution,” Vijayan said in his letter.
The chief minister in his letter, which was shared on his official Facebook page, also pointed out to the prime minister that it will be difficult for the vast majority of farmers to “legally procure” draught animals used for agriculture and other domestic purposes.