By defining beef as any beef, the new law will introduce a blanket ban on the consumption of beef in the state.
The Karnataka government introduced and passed the Karnataka Livestock Preservation and Killing Prevention Bill 2020, one of the strictest anti-cow slaughter laws in the country, amid uproar in the Assembly. When congressional legislators left the Assembly in protest, the bill was approved without any discussion in the full Assembly. Congress now says they will follow a legal route to oppose the law that seeks a total ban on cow slaughter in the state.
The law has provisions to severely punish those who indulge in smuggling, illegal transportation, atrocities committed against cows and their slaughter. By defining beef as any beef, the bill will introduce a blanket ban on the consumption of beef in the state.
As Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan introduced the bill, Congressional MLAs led by opposition leader Siddaramaiah stormed into the Chamber well. They alleged that the bill was not discussed for presentation at the Business Advisory Committee meeting. “Yesterday we discussed that no new bills will be presented. We agreed that only ordinances will be passed. Now he (Prabhu Chavan) has suddenly introduced this bill against the killing of cows,” Siddaramaiah said.
However, President Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri said that he had made it clear at the meeting that important bills will be presented on Wednesday and Thursday.
Congress has expressed fears that the bill, if passed, could be misused to polarize communal lines and target minorities. On the other hand, the BJP has been saying that the bill is to protect cows that are sacred to Hindus. To tighten the provisions of the proposed law, Chavan had referred to similar laws in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. A team of officials led by Chavan had recently visited Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, where the law was enacted, to study its implementation.
Speaking to TNM after his meeting with UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Chavan had said: “In 2010 we had passed a similar bill, but the then congressional government in the Center had made excuses to return the bill and not pass it. Now that our government is in power according to the wishes of the people, particularly Hindus and seers, we will go ahead and enact a law, what can the Opposition do?
Key provisions of the new law
Under the law now presented in the Assembly, the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter inside and outside Karnataka will be prohibited. Transportation with the intention that the livestock is used in the field of agriculture or livestock will be allowed. It also prohibits the slaughter of cow and bull calves, oxen, male or female buffalo, and buffalo calves.
In what is called a draconian provision, the law grants powers of search and capture to the police on the basis of “reasons to believe.” The cattle thus seized will be turned over to state livestock care organizations. The penalty for slaughter will range from 50,000 to 10 lakhs per cattle and three to seven years in prison.
