Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray criticised the state government and Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation for banning meat sales on Independence Day. Speaking to the media, he said people’s freedom was being taken away on the day meant to celebrate independence. "Why impose a meat ban? I have told my people to continue... What does the government want? Who eats what—should the government decide? The municipality or the government should not decide what people eat," he said a quoted by IANS.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray also criticised the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation order, saying citizens have the right to eat non-vegetarian food. He said the closure is neither a matter of religion nor of national interest and called for the suspension of the municipal commissioner.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called the controversy “unnecessary.” He said the state government has no interest in regulating what people eat. Fadnavis added that he was unaware of a 37-year-old government resolution allowing municipal corporations to close slaughterhouses on certain days, including August 15. He noted that similar orders were also issued during Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray’s tenure as chief minister.
“The state government is not interested in (knowing) who eats what. We have many other issues to address,” Fadnavis told reporters here. “Some people even went ahead and called vegetarian people as impotent. This nonsense should stop at once,” he said. “The state never took such a decision. A government resolution (GR) was issued in August 1988. Municipal corporations take such decisions (ordering closure of slaughterhouses) on their own. Even I was not aware of such a GR existing for such a long period.” “I also learned about it (GR) through the media. Similar decisions were taken when (Shiv Sena UBT leader) Uddhav Thackeray was chief minister of Maharashtra (November 2019-June 22),” he opined.
In addition to Kalyan-Dombivli, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation banned animal slaughter and meat sales on August 15 and 20. Reports also indicate that the Malegaon Municipal Corporation in Nashik district has issued a similar order.
(With inputs from agencies)