National Conference wants beef ban to be lifted ahead of Eid

The National Conference (NC) on Sunday asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to bring in an ordinanc e to amend the Ranbir Penal Code on the beef ban ahead of Eid-ul-Adha.

"The ordinance route is necessary since the Assembly session starts after Eid. Though party will submit a bill to make necessary amendments to the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) in this context, the fact that Eidul-Adha falls before the start of the Assembly session makes it imperative on the behalf of the government to pass an ordinance," senior NC leader Abdul Rahim Rather said.

Senior National Conference leaders Abdul Rahim Rather, Nasir Aslam Wani, party spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu and others made the demand on behalf of the party while speaking at a membership drive held at Chrar-e-Sharief in Budgam.

"Ordinances are meant for such urgencies and vital matters. Mufti Sahab (Mufti Mohammad Sayeed) should get the ordinance passed and send it to the Governor as soon as possible so as to prevent an explosive situation on Eid - where traditionally cow sacrifices are commonplace," Rather said.

Wani said the ordinance was a moral obligation of the government towards the people of this state whose religious beliefs could be impinged on by the implementation of the ban on cow slaughter, as directed by the high court.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday issued an order in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the deputy advocate general that contended that slaughtering and sale of the bovine animals is rampant in some parts of the state, which severely affected religious sentiments of a section of the society.

The HC directed the state police to ensure complete ban on beef in the state and asked it to take action against those who indulge in its sale. The court directions evoked strong reactions among people in Kashmir and resulted in protests.

"The chief minister and the state law minister need to clarify how the state deputy advocate general was part of a PIL in which the government was the respondent.

Did Mufti government not ask the particular petitioner to withdraw from all cases against the state government before appointing him as the deputy advocate general? Or worse yet, was he awarded as a deputy advocate general as a reward for his petition? Mufti Sahab's government is directly responsible for this situation as pointed out in the court order," Wani said.