Facing flak, Mumbai civic body revokes two-day meat sale ban

Mumbai: Facing flak, the local civic body on Friday revoked its controversial decision to ban sale of meat in Mumbai on two days during the Jain festival of `Paryushan’. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) had earlier decided to prohibit sale of meat on 13 and 18 September during the Jain fasting festival which began on Friday. However, a separate two-day ban imposed by the BJP-led government in Maharashtra remains in force. [caption id=“attachment_2430818” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] As the MCGM move sparked a row and attracted criticism, the municipal body moved a proposal to revoke the ban. “We today called a special meeting, where we submitted a proposal that the meat ban circular of MCGM, which called for a two-day ban on selling meat, should be revoked. “The proposal was cleared. We have requested the Mayor to direct the administration to revoke the ban. All Shiv Sena Corporators along with those from other parties supported the proposal,” Shiv Sena party leader Trushna Vishwasrao, who submitted the proposal, told PTI. BJP (which had earlier backed the ban), too, supported Sena and other parties in seeking a revocation of the ban, she said. MNS group leader Sandeep Deshpande said his party is only partially satisfied with the civic body’s decision and said their agitation will continue till the state government too withdraws the ban on meat sale. “Our fight is not against the duration of ban but the government’s decision to prohibit people from eating what they want to. Even if MCGM revoked the ban today, the state government hasn’t. We will continue to protest until the government permanently does away with banning anything that people would want to eat,” he said. BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said the state government has imposed the two-day ban on selling meat in accordance with a Supreme Court’s judgement of 1994. “If the Corporation has revoked the ban, good for them. If the government is being asked to withdraw the ban as well, the opposition should first explain the way in which it can be done. The government is only following the directives of the Supreme Court. The opposition is free to appeal against that order of 1994,” he said. NCP leader Jitendra Awhad said the meat ban decision was a “gameplan” between the BJP-led government and the Municipal Commissioner. “This ban was issued on instruction of the Chief Minister. It was a gameplan between the government and the MCGM Commissioner who bypassed the norms. Therefore, Sena should bring a no-confidence motion against the Commissioner for having undermined the status of the general body of MCGM,” Awhad said. Congress leader and ex-MP Sanjay Nirupam said closure of slaughter houses on certain days was a norm when his party was in power but the government cannot enforce a ban on the trade of meat. “Closure of slaughter houses for two days of ‘Paryushan’ was a well-accepted norm during our time. But in a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai, the government cannot forcefully stop anybody from eating anything,” the Mumbai Congress chief said. PTI