Guwahati: The maximum penalty under the cattle preservation Act passed in the Assam Assembly is up to eight years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh. The bill was passed yesterday with a sharp increase in fines for slaughter, meat consumption, meat smuggling, and unauthorized slaughter.
The Assam Assembly has passed a cattle preservation bill despite the opposition’s protest. The opposition left the House after rejecting their demand that the bill is referred to a select committee. The bill was then passed.
Butchery and the meat trade have been banned in areas where Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs, who do not eat beef, live in large numbers. The ban was imposed on Hindu temples and inns within a five-kilometer radius.
With Speaker Biswajit announcing the passage of the Assam cattle preservation Bill, 2021, BJP members chanted slogans calling for Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Jai Shriram. Akhil Gogoi, the only independent MLA in the House, also left the House in protest of the bill being considered. Opposition Congress, AIUDF, and CPM demanded that the bill be left to the select committee. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sharma has rejected the demand.
He claimed that the ban was not aimed at banning the consumption of beef but rather aimed at considering the religious sentiments of others. He also pointed out that religious friendship is not the sole responsibility of Hindus. Aminul Islam MLA agreed with the demand to remove the word ‘buffalo’ from the bill.
Aminul Islam MLA said he welcomed the ban on the slaughter in areas where non-beef-eating people live, but opposed the ban on slaughter within five kilometers of temples. Under this provision, no slaughter will take place anywhere in the state. He pointed out that it would have been better to say that slaughtering was banned across the state.
