New Delhi, DHNS:  At a time when “beef politics” is dominating Bihar Assembly poll campaigning, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh ruled out the possibility of a central law on cow slaughter “at the moment”.

Singh also described the Dadri lynching incident as “unfortunate” and held the Samajwadi Party-ruled government in Uttar Pradesh responsible as it was a “law and order issue” that “states must handle”.

“No need for a central law on cow slaughter at the moment,” he told a news channel. He was also of the view that every party was responsible for maintaining communal harmony. Singh, however, did not disclose future strategy on cow slaughter which was so dear to its ideological mentor RSS and other Hindutva organisations, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

Though the Centre was not inclined to have a central law banning cow slaughter, after the Modi government came to power last May, the BJP ruled states of Maharashtra and Haryana brought their own legislation to enforce ban on killing of cows for eating.
BJP chief Amit Shah also echoed the same stand in a TV interview but insisted that if the BJP comes to power in Bihar, it will ensure complete ban on slaughtering of cow in the state.

The BJP had earlier explained that it cannot bring a central legislation owing to lack of majority in both the Houses of Parliament.

But for about five states, including Kerala and Nagaland, others do not allow cow slaughtering though buffalo meat is legally available.

The BJP, meanwhile, was red faced by disclosures about Uttar Pradesh MLA Sangeet Som’s meat business connections. Som, who was snubbed by the party for making inflammatory speech after Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched owing to rumour that he and his family had beef, was on the board of directors of two firms exporting “halal meat”.

Som, indicted for the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, was a director of Al-Dua Food Processing Private Limited from 2005 but retired in 2008. He was also associate director of Al Anam, another meat processing unit, from February to June in 2008.

The BJP MLA from Sardhana, however, denied having any link with meat business.

Photo credit: DHNS