Maharashtra woke up to some bizarre #foodie news this morning. President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, nearly 15 years after the state assembly passed the bill during the BJP rule in 1995.
The slaughter of cows was previously prohibited in the state under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act of 1967. The amended act now also bans the slaughter of bulls as well as bullocks, which was previously allowed based on a fit-for-slaughter certificate.
“Thanks a lot Hon President Sir for the assent on Maharashtra Animal Preservation Bill. Our dream of ban on cow slaughter becomes a reality now,” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted yesterday evening.
“This is a historic step, which has cultural as well as economic implications for the state. We had passed this Act when we were in power in 1995 and had sent it for the President’s nod in 1996. Subsequent governments in the state, however, failed to do the needful to get the Bill implemented. We had promised in our manifesto to bring this Bill and we have managed to do it,” said Kirit Somaiya, BJP MP from Mumbai.
Anyone found to be selling beef or in possession of it can be jailed for five years and fined Rs.10,000. Mumbai alone consumes nearly 90,000 kg of mutton every day and we shudder to think of the implications that this act will bring about. Unemployment for one will be on the rise along with a domino effect on the prices of other meats.
Beef lovers, however, have been given an olive branch in the form of water buffaloes. Carabeef can still be sold in the state but the meat is generally seen as an inferior quality meat.
Well, if you happen to fall in the category of beef lovers, we suggest you take a moment and chuckle over these hilarious #BanBeef pictures.
I for one am imagining the sneaky ways via which I can smuggle in beef and get away without paying the fine. Maybe a dumb “I thought this was mutton” could work? Else I could just blame the three Khans and say that it was a conspiracy by them, as part of love Jihaad, eh? Odd political references aside I am already missing my steak; what about you?
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