SC clears central restrictions for cattle markets for slaughter and for Bakar Eid. Courtesy: BJP.

Representational Image.

There is no restrictions on Cattle Market so far in the country and lakhs of cattle including Bos Indicus (Indian Cows) will be slaughtered in this Bakar Eid in the force of SC judgement.

Taking the shield of Judicial Constraint, is BJP betraying Hindus in the matters of Cow Protection?

Upananda Brahmachari | HENB | Haridwar | July 12, 2017:: Yesterday was the most cheerful day of for the butchers, beef-eaters and cattle traders for slaughtering purpose after hearing the pronouncement of the Supreme Court order suspending Centre’s notification on Cattle market in the form of “Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017”. The appex court also directed to maintain the Madars High Court’s (Madurai Bench) decision as it  was passed on May 30, 2017. Naturally, Tuesday was a shocking day for the Save Cow activists.

In the spate of increasing violence against cattle traders, the Centre on Tuesday told the apex court it is reconsidering certain aspects of its recently-notified rules on cattle trade. Accepting the Centre’s submission, the Supreme Court extended the stay imposed by Madras High Court on the notification that banned the sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter, for three months across the country.

The modality and validity of the central rules on cattle market were challenged in various high courts and the SC. The Madurai bench of Madras HC had stayed the rules. In the Tuesday move in the SC, the additional solicitor general PS Narasimha made all-out efforts to avert a stay on implementation of the rules. “Given the sensitivity attached to the issue… the government is keen to amend the rules after consulting various stakeholders. The amendments will come by the end of August,” he said. The court recorded the ASG’s submissions and appeared satisfied not to pass an interim order.

But, senior advocate Kapil Sibal (whose family has their own beef processing business), appearing for All India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee, said several petitions were pending in HCs which could pass conflicting orders. That would create confusion in the general public. “For the sake of clarity, the apex court must restrain the Centre from implementing the rules,” Sibal said.

On hearing both sides, a bench of Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud found merit in Sibal’s apprehension and said the Madurai bench’s stay would apply across the country. It disposed of the petitions and said as and when the government notified the amended rules, the Centre would provide for sufficient time between notification and implementation to permit those aggrieved by it to challenge it in court.

It, however, seems that delay in amending the rules announced on June 27 have added to the uncertainty. Despite an acknowledgement in official circles that the rules were not well thought through and pronouncements by environment minister Harsh Vardhan that a review is on the cards, the rules have not been altered so far.

“Please do not pass an interim order staying the rules as the government is not seeking modification of the Madurai bench’s interim stay. In any case, identification of livestock markets has to be done by the state governments prior to notifying them for applying the amended rules. That will take at least three more months. So, there is no impending possibility of the rules being implemented,” Narasimha said.

During the hearing, the bench repeatedly told the ASG, “If you (the government) want the court to take a balanced view, then it will be appropriate that the rules are kept in abeyance till the authorities take a considered view on representations against the rules. Till then, don’t implement the rules.”

Now, it is crystal clear that as the apex court restrained the central govt for three months  for implementation of the Cattle Market Rule, 2017 and Central Govt took the time of three months also to  identify the  livestock markets throughout the country and necessary changes in the Rule in question; there is no hurdle to run the cruelty and illegalities in those markets as usual up to August end and beyond, until the next order of the apex court comes up.

And, as the Bakar Eid is Schedule on 1st and 2nd September this year, the butchers, beef-eaters, cow smugglers, legal and illegal cattle traders will run the world’s biggest cow-and-cattle market chains in India to kill largest numbers of cattle in a day or two in the name of the Festivity of pain, blood, cruelty and inhumanity unabated.

More interestingly, as the related Madras Court’s observation is now maintainable nationwide as per the direction of the Supreme Court, the Cow and Cattle traders can safely run their business and hold markets in those states where cow slaughter and selling of beef are prohibited by respective state laws in Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chattishgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and so on. The created situation will give more oxygen to the butchers, beef-eaters, cow smugglers, legal and illegal cattle traders and they will obviously kill vulnerable cows and cattle resources mercilessly and abundantly.

In fine, now, there is no restrictions on Cattle Market so far in the country and lakhs of cattle including Bos Indicus (Indian Cows) will be slaughtered as usual and in this Bakar Eid in the force of SC judgement. Though the opinion of Dr. Subramnian Swamy, the Bos-Indicus Crusader, is still not available with us, his intervention in this matter is highly solicited by the  Save Cow activists.

The prevailing situation leads to a sheer Cow and Minority Politics in BJP ambit.

In our apprehension BJP will not introduce any national ban cow slaughter or ban on cattle market before 2019 general election. After all BJP is a political party like others and it is loosing its credential for being a ‘Party with Difference’. Like other parties BJP believes in minority politics and the party has its Minority cell in all levels. To woo the Muslim votes, BJP will never introduce a Central ban on cow slaughter or cattle market regulatory henceforth, before 2019.

In one hand,  BJP is ‘marketing’ some ‘loose’ laws and regulations like Cattle Market Rule, 2017 only to console the Hindu voters who are being frustrated with BJP’s policies on Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Cow Slaughter, Uniform Civil Code, Art. 370, Deportation of illegal infiltrators or End of Terrorism. On the other hand, the party is taking a very soft and lengthy policies as seen in UCC or this present Cattle market issue for keeping a safe relation with the Muslim minority.

If, there is any serious attitude of BJP to stop illegal cattle markets or to prevent animal cruelty, the party managers would not issue such a ‘loose, hackneyed and unprepared’  rules like  Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017.

There are many contradictions in the said rule. The rules have been framed under the prevention of cruelty act, which comes under the concurrent list, so that the Parliament could legislate on this.  But, the markets are in the state list. So, this is not clear whether the rule is made predominantly relating to cruelty or it is about the markets to stop illegal cattle trading connected with alarming decrease in Indian cows (Bos Indicus) and even related with terror rackets. Moreover, before making identification process of the cattle markets through out the states and without analyzing the nature of those markets, it was a political jolly to make a haste just to please a section, not to serve the purpose.

Again, there is no way to arrive at such a point that BJP is a party free from Beef Lobby. If anyone thinks that the Beef and Slaughter lobbies are only existed in Goa, Nagaland and Manipur; he is totally in  a wrong foot. A strong beef and slaughter lobby is very much active in BJP politics.

It is very much unfortunate that BJP is gradually deviating from its Hindutva politics. People belonging to Hindu vote bank of BJP is obviously taking the advantages of ‘development agenda’, but they can’t be satisfied anyway if their Hindutva aspirations are failed to achieve. A patriotic Indian and a staunch Hindu who is a dedicated voter of BJP can never digest a situation where a Prime Minister is talking extempore on ‘Zero Tolerance with terrorism’ in many international forums and side by side, he is  completely failure to save the lives of the pilgrims from the terror attack in Kashmir.

It will be fatal for BJP and PM Modi both, if the Hindu voters of BJP are starting to think that taking the shield of judicial constraints or other excuse, BJP is betraying Hindus in the matters of Cow Protection, Ayodhya Ram Temple, Uniform Civil Code and  Art. 370.

It’s real time of BJP for a high and integral introspection.

…

__Input from Agencies.

Disclaimer: The writer has full faith and respect to Indian judicial system, enacted laws of the land and the holy constitution of India including Art 48 enshrined in it. He is not a legal expert nor he has any intention to interfere in any sub-judice matter. The writer just franchised his right to express and freedom of art as made in a representational image used in this reportage. If anybody aggrieved or hurt by this matter, the writer is to beg apology in advance. The main intention of this matter is to save the lovely and benevolent cows and cattle, not to kill them anyway.