Beef meet traders association accuse Maneka Gandhi of making false statement

Beef meet traders association in Kongu district of Coimbatore, accused Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi of making false statement on pregnant cows and milking cows getting killed, saying once the cow is brought to slaughter house the cow is examined by the doctor and then the cow meat is brought to the shop for sale.

"It is the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) agenda to implement the cow slaughter law. Maneka Gandhi had given false statement on pregnant cows and milking cows getting killed. Once the cow is brought to slaughter house, the cow is examined by the doctor and the cow is sealed with rubber stamp and only after that the cow meat is brought to the shop for sale," said Ismail, president, beef meet traders association.

"The beef meat is rich in protein and this meat is eaten by majority of the people in the world, only after BJP came to power, this cow slaughter law is implemented, but several states like Goa refused to implement this law," he added.

According to reports, Maneka Gandhi termed the cow slaughter and buffalo slaughter 'illegal' and all the cows and buffalo which are being killed now are either pregnant or milking cows.

Early in March this year, President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Bill, which had been pending for 20 years, extending a ban on the killing of cows, considered sacred by Hindus, to bulls and bullocks.

The law, which calls for five years in jail and 10,000 rupees fine for anyone violating it, will make illegal slaughters much more difficult.

Killing cows is legal in just two states in India, though reports of illegal slaughter surface regularly.