Mumbai meat ban turns political: Shiv Sena and MNS sell meat on the street

On the first day of the staggered four-day meat ban in Mumbai, a clear divide was apparent in the ruling alliance of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with one partner calling for for a ban on the the sale of meat and the other selling meat on the street. According to the order passed by the BMC — where the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance is in power — on Tuesday, a ban on the sale of meat will be enforced on 10, 13, 17 and 18 September in the city.

However, on Wednesday, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray was quoted in a PTI report as saying, “We will ensure there is no ban on sale of meat for the eight days”. Meanwhile, the MNS announced that it opposed the ban and threatened to violate it. Sure enough on Thursday morning, its party workers and those of the Sena, were selling and distributing fish and live chickens in Dadar.

Hindustan Times quoted Sandeep Deshpande of the the MNS as saying , “We will not allow this circular to be implemented. We challenge the BMC to do that. The government cannot force citizens over their eating habits.”

PTI reports that the NCP — which is the ruling party in the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and actually called for the meat ban in its jurisdiction — referred to the BMC ban as a ‘ploy to polarise voters’. The report states that the NCP, along with the Congress, had dubbed the ban ‘a BJP ploy to polarise voters with an eye on the elections to the civic body due in early 2017’.

Earlier in the week, the NMMC and Sena-BJP-led Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation had announced eight-day bans on the sale of meat in their jurisdiction from 10 September onwards. All three bans pertain to the sale of mutton and chicken, and not fish and fish and eggs. While private businesses are also banned from selling raw meat, serving cooked meat is not verboten.

In good news for compulsive carnivores, who aren’t too keen on making their way to Dadar for the MNS or Sena sale, Hindustan Times reported that according to the Indian Hotel Association of Restaurants, restaurants will continue to serve meat. Which is probably why prices of meat in the city spiked by ‘Rs 20 to 30’ on Wednesday.

The Indian Express quoted Haroon Rashique , owner of a Bhendi Bazaar restaurant, as saying, “The charges are higher by Rs 20-30 per kg. Also, the taste of frozen meat differs from fresh meat”.  Rashique was among several restaurateurs rushing to stock up on supplies ahead of the ban. He added, “I buy 100 kg of fresh meat daily. During weekends, my sales double. Now, with the ban on Thursday and Sunday, I am going to stock close to 300 kg. For that, I have to pay Rs 5,000 extra to rent a freezer”.