“In Karnataka, only the cow watchers have lost their lives,” said CN Ashwath Narayan.
Bangalore:
“Before, life was at risk for the vigilantes … not those in the (cattle) trade,” Ashwath Narayan, Karnataka’s chief deputy minister, told NDTV, responding to concerns that the new project of state law against the slaughter of cows protect and embolden ‘Gau rakshaks‘.
The Karnataka BJP government passed the strict Karnataka Livestock Prevention and Killing Prevention Act, 2020, on Wednesday amid protests in the assembly. The slaughter of cows has already been prohibited in the state since the 1960s. The bill broadens the definition of “cattle” to include bulls and buffaloes under the age of 13 and toughens the punishment for people involved in any form of slaughter of won.
Section 17 of the bill protects “persons acting in good faith” from legal action. Although it’s unclear if the section can be applied to cow watchers, Narayan said the bill was formulated with them in mind. “The vigilantes or anyone who is working for a cause and the law of the land should definitely have a margin to work on this provision,” he said.
Since 2015, there have been 115 incidents of cattle-related mob violence across the country in which 46 people were killed and 146 injured, none of which belonged to the vigilante attackers, according to data compiled by NDTV.
But Mr. Narayan said that “in Karnataka, only the cow watchers have lost their lives.”
The minister claimed that the Karnataka vigilantes were putting themselves at great risk. “The people in the (cattle) trade were fully armed. Lives were being taken and people killed. They are not the vigilantes: he said, citing data that is not available in the public domain.
According to the declaration of objects and motives of the bill, the state government wants to guarantee the “conservation and improvement of cattle breeds” and the “organization of agriculture and livestock.” Mr. Narayan, however, emphasized the cultural importance of the cow.
“We need to protect and promote our culture. That is the main reason for us … to come out with a law. Not an agenda. We are already in power,” he said.
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